Webcasters’ cries of impending bankruptcy were answered in a Hous...
Webcasters’ cries of impending bankruptcy were answered in a House bill that would cancel the Copyright Royalty Board decision raising webcasting rates across the board and limiting payment to a per-song standard above a threshold. Reps. Inslee (D-Wash.) and…
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Manzullo (R-Ill.) introduced the Internet Radio Equality Act, which would set royalty rates at 7.5% of revenue 2006-2010 and scrap the per-song standard. The Digital Media Assn. (DiMA) hailed the bill, saying it could “save thousands of webcasters from bankruptcy” they're doomed to otherwise when the board’s rates take effect May 15. Satellite radio pays 7.5% of revenue, DiMA said, and the flat-rate standard is also used by “jukeboxes and sound recordings.” Exec. Dir. Jon Potter said: “This bill may be Internet radio’s last best hope.” He called for quick congressional action. The bill would ensure that “public broadcasting has a place in the media landscape by modernizing” the law “for the 21st century,” an NPR spokeswoman said. Public radio has been recognized since 1976 as unable to pay “commercial-level royalty rates,” she said: “This bill will provide a long term resolution that is fair for all sides.”