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From http://www.aftra.com/press/pr_2007_04_16_crb_royalty_rates.html
LOS ANGELES, CA (April 16, 2007)—The
American Federation of Television and Radio Artists praised the
decision today by the Copyright Royalty Board denying webcasters'
request for a rehearing on the ruling that set payments to artists for
use of sound recordings on the Internet.
"AFTRA
recording artists applaud the Copyright Royalty Board for upholding
their decision on Internet radio," said Kim Roberts Hedgpeth, AFTRA
National Executive Director. "When artists perform music, they create a
product. They deserve to be paid fairly for the use of the creativity,
talent, and hard work they put into making that product. Internet radio
is growing and successful because fans want to listen to the music
created by artists. The CRB's decision recognizes that as these
businesses grow, both featured and non-featured artists should be
compensated at fair market rates for their contributions to the growth
of these services."
The
ruling—handed down by the Copyright Royalty Board, a three-judge panel
appointed by the U.S. Copyright Office—upholds royalty rates from 2006
to 2010 that Internet webcasters such as AOL and Yahoo have to pay
artists and labels for the use of their music.
AFTRA
represents royalty artists and session singers who work with more than
1,200 recording companies, including the four major labels—Sony/BMG,
Warner, EMI, and Universal Music Group—and most of their subsidiary
labels through the AFTRA Sound Recordings Code, a nationwide agreement
in place since the early 1950s.
Thanks to Mark Shannon at http://www.980woq.net
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Rep. JAY INSLEE (D-WA) today introduced "The Internet Radio Equality
Act," which would reverse the MARCH 2 ruling by the COPYRIGHT ROYALTY
BOARD (CR that increased the fees webcasters pay to play music online.
If
passed, the bill would vacate the CRB's decision and set a 2006-2010
royalty rate at the same level currently paid by satellite radio
services (7.5% of revenue); reset the royalty rules for noncommercial
radio such as NPR stations that offer Internet radio music; and change
the royalty rate-setting standard used in royalty arbitrations, so that
the standards applying to webcasters would align with the standard that
applies to satellite radio royalty arbitrations.
"Since the
CRB's MARCH 2 decision to dramatically and unfairly increase webcaster
royalty rates, millions of Internet radio listeners, webcasters and
artists have called on Congress to take action," said SAVENETRADIO's
JAKE WARD. "Today Congress took notice, and we thank Mr. INSLEE for
leading the charge to save music diversity on the Internet. This bill
is a critical step to preserve this vibrant and growing medium and to
develop a truly level playing field where webcasters can compete with
satellite radio. The Internet Radio Equality Act is the last best hope
webcasters, artists, and listeners have to keep the music playing."
Late
today, NAB Exec. VP DENNIS WHARTON said, "NAB is reviewing details of
Rep. INSLEE's bill, which would overturn the COPYRIGHT ROYALTY BOARD's
disappointing decision to dramatically raise fees for companies that
stream music over the Internet. We will work with CONGRESS to craft a
solution that helps ensure the survival of a fledgling audio platform."
And
NPR VP/Communications ANDI SPORKIN called the bill a "fair" resolution,
pointing out that copyright law on the books since 1976 "has recognized
that public radio has a very different mission from commercial media
and cannot pay commercial-level royalty rates." |
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Contact Person:
Matt DuBiel
Company Name:
9 FM Radio Chicago | Newsweb
Radio Company
Telephone Number: 773-767-0140
Email Address: matt@weplayanything.com
FOR
IMMEDIATE RELEASE: (March 20th, 2007)
“We’re
Banning CD Give Aways On Our Air”
CHICAGO IL – Records
and CDs have long been expected as prizes by radio listeners along with station
t-shirts, until now. In what appears to
be an act of solidarity with SoundExchange and the RIAA, 9 FM Radio in Chicago will
no longer give away any free music.
“When I read that the RIAA and SoundExchange needed money so badly that
they were going to price gouge independent web streamers and radio stations who
stream online, I knew we had to do our part.”, said Matt
DuBiel, Director of Programming for 9 FM. “In the face of the RIAA’s struggles, it just
doesn’t seem fair for us to be giving away CDs (for free) to music fans fully
capable of paying for the music themselves.
We’re inviting everyone who has won a CD from 9 FM or any other radio
station in Chicago this
year, to return it to us and we’ll exchange it for a 9 FM T-shirt and give the
CDs back to the RIAA. Radio stations
need to be able to stream online affordably.”
9 FM has been airing public service styled
announcements encouraging listeners to voice their concerns over the latest
ruling by the Copyright
Royalty Board (to raise streaming royalty fees) by signing a petition posted on
9 FM’s website.
The CRB is adopting the “ ‘per play’ rate proposal put forth by
SoundExchange (a digital music fee collection body created by the RIAA)...[The]
math suggests that the royalty rate decision — for the performance alone, not
even including composers' royalties! — is in the in the ballpark of 100% or
more of total revenues.'” 9 FM currently pays royalty fees (thousands of
dollars per month) supporting the writers, publishers and artists in the music
industry.
Newsweb
Radio Company’s 9 FM trimulcasts on 92.5 fm (WDEK), 92.7 fm (WKIE), 99.9 fm
(WRZA) and streams online at WePlayAnything.com….for now.
### |
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John
L. Simson, Executive Director of SoundExchange®, has been involved
in the music industry since his 1971 signing with Perception Records
as a singer/songwriter. His career has included a ten-year partnership
in Studio One Artists, managing country superstar Mary Chapin Carpenter
(1988-1995), Steve Forbert (Geffen), Jonell Mosser (MCA), Mike Henderson
(RCA) and others. Simson has practiced entertainment law since 1980,
and most recently was of counsel to the firm of Berliner, Corcoran &
Rowe from 1990 through 1999. Simson joined SoundExchange in March of
2000 and was named its Executive Director in June of 2001.
Barrie
Kessler is a 15-year veteran of database design and integration,
having served as principal consultant for numerous national and international
corporations, including many within the U.S. sound recording industry.
Ms. Kessler is a seasoned professional in virtually all aspects of database
applications from conceptual design to final production.
VP of Operations
Kris Patton
Information Systems
and Technology Director
Marc D. Hines
Director of Artist-Label
Relations
Neeta Ragoowansi
Controller
Anjula Singh
Communications Director
Willem Dicke
SoundExchange Board
Alasdair McMullan
- EMI
Andrea Finkelstein - Sony BMG
Cary Sherman - RIAA
Daryl P. Friedman
- Recording Academy*
Dick Huey - Matador Records*
Richard Bengloff
- American Association of Independent Music
Jay L. Cooper, Esq.
- Recording Artists' Coalition (RAC)*
Jay Rosenthal, Esq. - RAC*
Kim Roberts Hedgpeth - AFTRA
Michael Hausman
Michael Ostroff
- UMG
Patricia Polach - AFM
Patrick Rains
Paul Robinson
- WMG
Perry Resnick - Music Manager's Forum-U.S.*
Steven M. Marks - RIAA*
Tom Silverman
- Tommy Boy Entertainment LLC*
Walter F. McDonough, Esq. - Future of Music Coalition
(FMC)*
*For identification purposes
only
In other words, as best as I can tell, (former and current) music label execs, managers, and computer geeks, with not one person who understands broadcasting or webcasting. Let them walk a mile in our shoes....
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http://biz.yahoo.com/ap/070319/internet_radio.html?.v=1
Also at http://www.wbt.com/news/detail_ap.cfm?ap_id=D8NVSA6O0
and at http://www.businessweek.com/ap/financialnews/D8NVSA7G0.htm
(AP links tend to die off)...
In summary, broadcasters and webcasters big and small are apparently set to fight this thing tooth and nail.
Soundexchange, though, made the most foolish statement, claiming that "rapid growth in advertising revenues from online music broadcasting would more than allow webcasters to cover the new fees.""SoundExchange pointed to research finding that those ad revenues grew from $50 million in 2003 to $500 million last year."
Except the number of webcasters grew far more than ten times, didn't it....
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From the Washington Post - thanks to Rick at Stop and go radio!
http://blog.washingtonpost.com/rawfisher/2007/03/webcasters_slam_into_royalty_p.html
This points out that the hobbyist, small commercial, and most of the medium commercial webcasters cannot afford these outrageous rates.
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The Music Nazis are at it again...
Those wonderful people who
lead to nearly bankrupting Internet radio once are ready to do it
again. This time they're out to sink virtually all Internet radio.
Contrary
to popular belief, playing records on the radio or on the Internet
isn't free. Broadcasters and Webcasters have to pay huge amounts of
money to licensing firms for the privilege of promoting someone's
music.
Over the air radio stations generally pay a percentage
of their gross revenues. Not so for Internet Radio, which according to
the mandates of the Copyright Royalty Board, a division of the Library
of Congress, webcasters will have to pay per song and per listener. A
minimum of $500 per year for the smallest webcasters, and that amount
can skyrocket to hundreds of thousands for the most popular sites.
To
call this decision unpopular is the biggest understatement since we
read HW's lips and found out just how truth challenged he was! But not
just among the "usual suspects". Everyone from virtually every online
broadcaster, terrestrial radio stations, even syndicators and hosts
like myself realize just how much this can cost them in the long run.
The big National Association of Broadcasters found itself allied with
National Public Radio which found itself allied with, of all people,
Rush Limbaugh.
Do I think that performers and composers
should benefit from their works? Absolutely. But how does it benefit
performers to have their work suddenly not available through the
hundreds of legitimate webcasters willing to pay a reasonable stipend
for the right to promote their works? Further, by driving the
legitimate webcasters out of business, the CRB decision will drive the
webcasting industry undergroud where they'll be unable to secure any
revenue for the artists. Is that in the artist's best interests?
Now here's the real question...
What
about Myspace? Numerous artists have posted pages there with clips of
their music. Will they be required to pay-for-play as well? After
all, they are profiting from their own works? Why shouldn't they pay?
What about streaming media on an artist's own web site? Pay-for-play?
And how much of this money will "trickle down" to the artists
after the bureaucracies take their pieces of the pie? Very little in
all reality. Ask any composer how much their ASCAP, BMI, or SESAC
checks are, and you'll get the answer. These "rights" organizations do
little to benefit their composers in the long run but profit their big
salaried executives. Will the CRB be any better? Not hardly.
Enjoy free internet radio while it lasts. Unless wiser heads prevail, it won't last for long. And that's truly sad. |
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