Webcasters

SoundExchange Pureplay Webcasters Agreement (PDFs Attached)

Authored by Ned Sherman on July 13, 2009 - 10:59am.

Last week, we reported that SoundExchange, the firm set up by the major record labels to collect and distribute digital royalties, announced that it has agreed on new streaming music royalties for "pureplay" commercial webcasters. For those of you interested in the specifics of the deal, here are "Exhibit A - Agreed Rates and Terms for Commercial Webcasters Including Small Pureplay Webcasters" and "SoundExchange's Letter to the Copyright Office about the Agreement."

Webcasters Win Royalty Reprieve; SoundExchange Won't Enforce Rates

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on July 13, 2007 - 12:26pm.

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.

Senate Bill Would Alter Rates, Restrict Recording of Web, Satellite Radio

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on January 12, 2007 - 9:27am.

Washington - A bill introduced in the U.S. Senate would alter royalty rates and add copy-protection requirements to the satellite and Internet radio industries.

Labels, Webcasters Fail to Reach Agreement on Streaming Royalty Rates

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on July 8, 2005 - 2:40am.

Washington -- Record labels negotiating with webcasters on updated royalty rates for the rights stream music online have failed to reach an agreement during a "voluntary negotiation period," Radio and Internet Newsletter reported. SoundExchange, the recording industry entity set up to collect and distribute digital royalties, noted that "settlement discussions are ongoing." The current rates were set only after bitter debate and a flawed royalty arbitration that spurred an overhaul of the entire process, resulting in the creation of a panel of Copyright Royalty Judges. Should negotiations between labels and webcasters break down, the two sides will submit statements of evidence for a "settlement conference"; should that conference fail to produce a settlement, the Copyright Royalty Judges will then hold their own hearings and independently set royalty rates for webcasters.

Large Webcasters, SoundExchange Propose Music Royalty Agreement

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on August 31, 2004 - 10:03am.

Washington -- The Digital Media Association (DiMA), a trade group of large music webcasters, announced that it has filed a joint petition with SoundExchange, the recording industry's digital royalty collection body, to renew the current webcasting royalty rates for the period of 2005-2006. The U.S. Copyright Office will publish the agreement and accept comments in its review of the proposed deal, which would eliminate the necessity of holding another contentious Copyright Arbitration Royalty Panel (CARP). The agreement would cover large webcasters including AOL, Microsoft, Yahoo and RealNetworks, while smaller webcasters would still be free to negotiate their own terms. "DiMA companies continue to believe that royalties paid by our industry to sound recording companies and artists are unfairly high and above-market-rate," said DiMA executive director Jon Potter. "Nevertheless, in the interests of focusing our industry's limited resources on the continuing effort to build profitable businesses and defeat piracy, DiMA has agreed to avoid arbitration and the associated costs for at least another year or two."

Webcasters Challenge Bill That Would Loosen Record Label Antitrust Laws

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on December 12, 2003 - 5:16am.

Washington -- The Webcaster Alliance, a trade group made up of Internet broadcasters, announced on Friday that it has filed a legal complaint against the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) and the five major record labels, opposing a recent bill introduced by Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-Utah) that would relax antitrust regulations for the recording industry. The "Enhancing Federal Obscenity Reporting and Copyright Enforcement Act of 2003" (the EnFORCE Act), the group says, would expand the existing antitrust exemption enjoyed by the recording industry to cover all compulsory mechanical licenses under section 115 of the Copyright Act. "A Federal Judge recently approved a $143 million settlement in the CD price-fixing case that was brought against the RIAA's Big 5 record label members," said Webcaster Alliance president Ann Gabriel. "Yet here they are attaching additional language to expand their antitrust exemptions to a bill they know most legislators would have a hard time opposing, since it deals with the exploitation of children. This is so typical of the RIAA and their manipulative, smoke and mirrors tactics." The Webcaster Alliance is asking the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California to rule the record labels in violation of the Sherman Antitrust Act, as well as for a declaratory judgment that the labels have engaged in misuse of their copyrights. http://www.webcasteralliance.com/modules/news/index.php?storytopic=5 http://www.webcasteralliance.com/docs/WA_complaint.pdf

tags: Antitrust | Records | Webcasters | Laws |