|
|
Webcasting Rights In his book, Lessig describes how, with the advent of FM radio, AM radio broadcasters did everything they could to delat its growth and protect their own industry. A similar thing is happening in the field of webcasting. Major corporations are doing everything in their power to monopolize the industry, sending smaller webcasters out of business and discouraging further growth. The major corporations were also able to use their influence in order to shape the formation of current copyright law. In doing so, the laws were constructed in such a way as to impose unrealistic fines that small webcasters could not afford to pay. Currently, in order to start an online radio station, the minimum payment for business establishment is $10,000. The original amount proposed by CARP (Copyright Arbitration Royalty Panel), was a mere $500, however the Librarian of Conress made the decision to adopt the higher price at the advice of the Register of Copyright. The expensive fee prevents the formation of smaller stations and discourages competition. Major webcasters such as Yahoo Music have little to fear from these government regulations. Other webcasters such as Last FM and Pandora Radio were just large enough to afford the fees, but the once numerous group of private stations has been reduced to almost nothing. In addition to the establishment fee, online radio stations are required to pay performance royalty fees based on the number of "performances". That number is determined by multiplying the number of plays by the number of listeners at a rate of a $0.07 per song. This amount may seem small, but when you take into consideration the number of songs played by eacch listener, the fees can quickly add up. In the past, music radio stations only needed performance rights for the songs they played and they were usually attained through "blankey licenses" that were based on a percentage of revenue. One lump fee to cover all the songs they played. This was more efficient and considerably cheaper than the current webcasting regulations. Webcasting Rates http://www.copyright.gov/carp/webcasting_rates_final.html Radio and Internet Newsletter (RAIN) |
|---|
