FC: Internet radio fees may push hobby webcasters off the air

[Declan McCullagh <declan () well com>]

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From: "Richard Uhl" <ulyssesaudio () hotmail com>
To: declan () well com
Cc: kurt () kurthanson com
Subject: Internet Radio Performance Rights Fees
Date: Thu, 21 Mar 2002 11:32:37 -0500

Declan-

I thought you and other Politech readers would like to know about the 
recent Copyright Arbitration Royalty Panel ("CARP") decision that internet 
radio Webcasters should pay "performance rights" fees of  0.14¢ per song 
per listener for Internet-only Webcasters, 0.07¢ per song per listener for 
broadcast radio simulcasts, and 0.02¢ per song per listener for 
non-commercial radio simulcasts.  This is more than 100% of most 
Webcasters' gross revenues, including the "revenues" on my tiny (10 
listener max) station www.ulyssesaudio.com. I maintain the station for 
free, with no advertising or revenue source of any kind. This will 
effectively shut down mine and most other independent internet radio stations.

In perspective, with my max listenership (12 songs/hour x 10 listeners max 
X 24 hours/day x 365 days/year x 0.14¢) that equals more than $122,000 per 
year. Remember when I said I had no revenue sources?

Many Webcasters had hoped that the CARP's recommended royalty rate would be 
based between 3% (proposed by webcasters, in line with ASCAP, BMI, etc. 
composer royalty fees) and 15% (RIAA proposal to webcasters).

Note that this is ALL based on the DMCA demand that performers be 
compensated for perfect digital copies. However, that reasoning is flawed 
since most internet radio isn't copied, merely streamed, and the broadcast 
is usually much lower quality than "perfect."

Check out www.saveinternetradio.org for more information. Thanks for your time.
_______________________________
r. ulysses uhl
webmaster, broadcaster, shoutcaster
www.ulyssesaudio.com
ulyssesaudio () hotmail com

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Date: Thu, 21 Mar 2002 12:49:45 -0500 (EST)
From: Paul Jones <pjones () metalab unc edu>
To: Declan McCullagh <declan () well com>
Subject: net.radio: CARP comment period extended to April 5

Declan,

You and politechers may be aware that the Copyright Arbitration Royalty
Panel handed down some extremely complex and onerous constrains on the use
of music on the net by webcasters and by on-air stations doing simulcasts.

Basically webcasters are dead by being priced out of the market, being
required to do complex recordkeeping at the song and listener level,
having programming restrictions placed on the content that are far more
constraining than on-air and more. Fees will be collected and distributed
by the RIAA, even for non-RIAA members, after a 'reasonable management
fee' has been taken by that organization. All of this is retroactive to
1998.

Low revenue non-commercial community on-air stations doing simulcasts
(ibiblio.org serves 4 of these at the moment - WXYC, first internet
simulcast station; WCPE, 7/24 classical; WUNC, regional NPR; WXDU, Duke's
college radio) are also killed -- unless they are Center for Public
Broadcasting members; CPD has cut a separate deal (in our case this covers
only WCPE).

The case for non-commercial community stations doing simulcasts are
covered well at http://www.ruf.rice.edu/~willr/cb/sos/ and at
http://www.wxyc.org/sos.html

The case for webcasters is made at http://www.save-the-music.org/ and
http://saveinternetradio.org/

No one is against artists or copyright holders being paid. The complaint
is that the combinations of a high minimum fee, complex -- and invasive in
the case of individual listener data -- reporting, and content
restrictions. Kill the young and delightfully diverse pratice of
net.radio.

http://www.loc.gov/copyright/carp/webcasting_rates.html is the CARP
webcasting proposal

http://www.loc.gov/copyright/fedreg/2002/67fr10652.html is the notice in
the Federal Register that the comment period has been extended.

==========================================================================
                             Paul Jones
                    "Gort! Klaatu barada nikto!"
http://www.ibiblio.org/pjones/ at the Site Formerly Known As MetaLab.unc.edu
  pjones () ibiblio org   voice: (919) 962-7600     fax: (919) 962-8071
===========================================================================

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