The appeals of last year's Copyright Royalty Board decision on the royalties paid for the use of sound recordings by Internet radio stations continue on, and one recent filing raises interesting questions of whether or not the CRB was properly appointed. Last week, the Department of Justice, which represents the CRB in defending its decision in the Court of Appeals, filed its brief in opposition to the briefs of the webcasters, which we summarized here. The DOJ brief essentially argued that the webcasters' briefs were insufficient to satisfy the requirement for a successful appeal - that the CRB decision was arbitrary and capricious or otherwise contrary to law.

Under the compulsory license for the use of sound recordings - the license which allows Internet radio services to use all legally recorded sound recordings by paying a royalty set by the Copyright Royalty Board - the designated collection agency can, once each year, audit a licensee to assess its compliance with the royalty requirements. Under the law, when the collective decides to audit a company, it must notify the Copyright Royalty Board, who then gives public notice of the fact that an audit is to take place. The Copyright Royalty Board has just announced that SoundExchange has decided to audit Last.FM.

New York - Yahoo (NASD: YHOO) and AOL (NYSE: TW) may shutter their Internet radio services, facing a 38% increase in music royalties at the hands of the Copyright Royalty Board, Bloomberg reports. "We're not going to stay in the business if cost is more than we make long term," Yahoo Music general manager Ian Rogers told Bloomberg. Echoing the same tone, AOL Radio managing director Lisa Namerow told Bloomberg, "If the rates remain as they are, it would be very challenging to sustain a business that is profitable."

Washington - The U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia has released a briefing schedule for the appeal of webcasting royalty rates filed by various webcasters, which will begin in February but is not likely to be resolved until sometime in 2009, according to the Broadcast Law blog.

San Francisco - New York Senator and presidential hopeful Hillary Clinton expressed support for continued negotiations between webcasters and SoundExchange over royalty rates for streaming music online, in an e-mail reply sent to constituents who queried her on the issue, Wired News reported. "I will continue to monitor this situation with the hope that they produce a fair and equitable resolution for all sides," reads the e-mail from Clinton, published in full on Wired.com. "Please be assured that I will continue to follow this issue closely and that I will keep your views in mind in the future as the situation plays out."

Washington - SoundExchange, the music industry entity that collects and distributes digital royalties, announced yesterday that 24 small webcasters have signed an agreement that would extend the "below-market" music royalty rates they have received since 1998 through the year 2010.

New York - Some involved in the prickly royalty negotiations between music webcasters and the major record labels believe that issues could be resolved as early as the end of September, the Associated Press reported.

New York - The Digital Media Association (DiMA) -- which represents large webcasters like AOL, Yahoo, RealNetworks, Live365 and Pandora -- announced on Thursday that it has reached agreements with SoundExchange on several thorny issues related to the disputed royalty rates for streaming music online.

Washington - SoundExchange, the entity set up by the record labels to collect and distribute digital music royalties, announced on Wednesday that it has offered small webcasters a discounted rate through 2010, under essentially the same terms set out in the Small Webcaster Settlement Act.

Washington - The National Association of Broadcasters (NAB) this week announced its support for the Internet Radio Equality Act, a bipartisan House bill that would vacate the recent music webcasting royalty rate hike.

Washington - After appearing to have reached a tentative deal last week on one of the more contentious new webcasting royalty rate hikes, the Digital Media Association (DiMA) -- which represents large webcasters like Yahoo and AOL -- said it will not accept an offer from SoundExchange to reduce a minimum per-channel fee cap that includes "unrelated technology mandates that have previously been rejected several times."

Washington - Web radio broadcasters have been given an unexpected reprieve from new royalty rates many said will put them out of business, when the organization set up by record labels to collect digital royalties said in front of Congress on Thursday that it won't enforce the new rates when they take effect on Sunday.

Washington - A group of large and small webcasters, including NPR and those represented by the Digital Media Association (DiMA), on Wednesday asked the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit to suspend the date on which new, higher webcasting royalty rates are due to take effect, until the court hears the webcasters' appeal of those rates.

Washington - SaveNetRadio, a group backed by large webcasters such as AOL, Yahoo and Live365 who are represented by the Digital Media Association, said an offer put forth yesterday by SoundExchange that would provide below-market royalty rates for small webcasters would "decimate" the Internet radio industry.

Washington - SoundExchange, the record industry entity that collects and distributes digital music royalties, announced on Tuesday an offer to extend the terms of the Small Webcaster Settlement Act (SWSA) through 2010, in a response to Congressional pressure to reach a compromise on the new royalty rates for streaming music set recently by the Copyright Royalty Board (CRB).

Washington - SoundExchange, the entity set up by the recording industry to collect and distribute digital royalties, said on Thursday it is in discussions with some webcasters to "explore mutually beneficial business arrangements," in the wake of higher royalty rates announced by the Copyright Royalty Board (CRB) that many webcasters say will put them out of business.

Washington - National Public Radio (NPR) on Monday submitted a memorandum to the Copyright Royalty Board (CRB), which again stated its request for a public rehearing of the CRB's recent ruling on royalties webcasters must pay to stream music online.

Washington - SoundExchange, the independent entity set up by the major labels to collect and distribute digital music royalties, responded to criticisms from small and large webcasters alike that the royalty rates recently announced by the Copyright Royalty Board (CRB) are too high by calling the decision-making process "fair."

*A correction was made to the original version of this story.

Washington - The U.S. Copyright Royalty Board announced on Tuesday that it will consider requests from groups including the Digital Media Association, National Public Radio, Clear Channel Communications and SoundExchange for a rehearing of its recently announced ruling on digital music webcasting royalty rates.

Washington - The U.S. Copyright Royalty Board on Friday set new royalty rates for webcasters operating non-interactive radio stations, which will increase annually through 2010 and require Web radio stations to pay for each song streamed to each user.