A Hopeful Update On Internet Radio Negotiations

Right now things are a confusing mess with action in the courts, at least two bills in Congress and both private and public negotiations.  Sadly few if any media outlets are reporting what is going on accurately or at all.

One things is clear, SoundExchange has told webcasters that since they are in negotiations they do not
need to shut down.  Small webcasters may see their rates jump to 12% of revenue and perhaps less.

But for big webcasters, the picture is more cloudy. The $500 per channel cap that would have killed Pandora and some others is probably going to be capped at $50,000 )or 100 channels X $500 )if according to SoundExchange,  larger broadcasters start reporting airplay properly. (It claims most of the top 20 don’t even try to get it right.)  But what other royalties will be due and at what rate remains very unclear.

In the meantime efforts in the court seem dead and two bills – one to delay increases for 60 days and the other to set rates at lower levels – are stalled in Congress.

Negotiations are ongoing and now under the watchful eye of both Congress and (when we can get good information) the press and public.  A more acceptable outcome for all now finally seems possible.

The two best sources for more info are Wired’s Listening Post and Kurt Hanson’s RAIN.