Slashdot Mirror
Experimental Fees Settle Royalty War For Internet Radio
S-100 writes "SoundExchange has reached an agreement for royalty rates with a consortium of Internet radio broadcasters. The parties are ecstatic that the issue is finally resolved, and that the new rates are below the previous 'death to Internet radio' levels that had previously been imposed by the CARB. According to NewsFactor, Pandora founder Tim Westergren proclaims that 'the royalty crisis is over!', and other large broadcasters are equally pleased. One unheard-from group is less likely to be pleased: small Internet radio broadcasters. Buried in the details are a new minimum royalty payment: $25,000 per year. So say goodbye to all of the small Internet radio stations that you have been listening to, as they will no longer afford to operate legally."
Some way to stream anonymously...P2P style, but untraceable? A freenet type thing for pirate internet radio, and that way, ANYONE could broadcast. Not a way really to make money, but, if someone wants to play DJ. You could set up nym email accounts, and communicate with your public, and still avoid identification.
Light travels faster than sound. This is why some people appear bright until you hear them speak.........
This is probably the most important (and most likely to be overlooked) point in the whole issue. Artists cannot opt-out. Even artists who have never heard of SoundExchange and have never received a check *from* them are generating revenue *for* them.
This might just be a good issue around which to construct a test case for the judicial system. With good legal counsel close at hand, create a station which exclusively plays content that is offered under a suitably free license (http://openmusic.linuxtag.org/, http://www.danosongs.com/, insert your better suggestion ___ here), or where your station has a separate agreement with the artist, or where the artist is not receiving royalties from SoundExchange (and perhaps thinks he/she should be on the basis that SE has collected them from broadcasters).
Publicize, grow, attract attention belligerently.
SoundExchange *seems* to claim to represent all of these scenarios under the "no opting out" doctrine. There is no music "outside of their catalog" as they have no catalog, just an "all your music are belong to us" clause.
In the first two cases, open licenses and individual agreements *should* trump SE's doctrine. If so, then it's time to set about creating a clearinghouse method for mass producing "individual" agreements.
In the third case, SE is ripping off artists in a sense, and shouldn't be able to get away with it. Many small indie artists haven't a clue about SE or how to get royalties from them. Yet SE *keeps* royalties for artists who don't know how to claim them. Existing under a "no opt out" charter is reason enough that the onus should be on SE to notify artists & rightsholders of royalties they have coming.
Pi Ran Out