Washington - Some members of Congress on Thursday urged a marketplace solution to the issue of music webcasting royalty rates, acknowledging that they were wary of intervening in the matter, CNET News.com reported.

Since the Copyright Royalty Board announced a hike in the fees webcasters will pay to stream music online, many webcasters have said the rates are so high they will be forced out of business, and have pressed for and seen the introduction of legislation to vacate the royalty rates in both the House and Senate.

"I really don't think that Congress would be the best vehicle to resolve this type of issue," said committee chairwoman Nydia Velazquez (D-N.Y.), at a hearing of the House Small Business Committee on Thursday.

Committee co-chair Rep. Steve Chabot (R-Ohio) concurred, adding that Congress "often times [messes] things up even more than they already are."

However, more than 120 members of Congress have co-sponsored the Internet Radio Equality Act, which would vacate the new royalty rates.

One sign of hope for a marketplace solution appeared on Thursday, as SoundExchange -- the entity set up to collect digital royalties -- offered to cap an annual $500-per-channel fee deemed onerous by many webcasters at $2,500 per year, News.com reported.

Related Links:
http://tinyurl.com/34gj2u (CNET)

http://tinyurl.com/3499c5 (YouTube: hearing highlights)