Hollywood Reporter
Legislation to make radio stations pay royalties to performers when they broadcast their music won the Senate Judiciary Committee’s approval Thursday. Satellite radio, Internet radio and cable TV music channels already pay fees to performers and musicians, along with songwriter royalties. AM and FM radio stations just pay songwriters, not performers. Judiciary Committee Chairman Patrick Leahy, D-Vt., said the bill corrects a glaring inequity. “When we listen to music, we are enjoying the intellectual property of two creative artists — the songwriter and the performer,” he said.
LIVE 365 CALLS NEW INTERNET RADIO ROYALTY AGREEMENT UNCONSTITUTIONAL
Billboard.biz
Internet radio provider Live365, one of the few webcasters to turn down the recent SoundExchange compromise agreement for streaming royalty rates, is taking a decidedly different approach to the ongoing dispute – by challenging the constitutionality of the Copyright Royalty Board. The basis for this challenge is a recent U.S. Court of Appeals opinion in the District of Columbia. “Billions of dollars and the fates of entire industries can ride on the Copyright Royalty Board’s decisions,” the opinion reads. “(The CRB) exercises expansive executive authority … unsupervised by the Librarian of Congress or by any other Executive Branch official.” Building off that statement, Live365 filed a federal lawsuit the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia seeking an injunction against all further CRB proceedings until the constitutionality of the entity can be resolved. The suit comes on the cusp of the start of new royalty setting proceedings.
ARTISTS HOPE BILL WILL MAKE RADIO STATIONS PAY
Variety
New legislation has been proposed to change the way radio stations pay roalties to artists. The bill’s supporters characterize it as correcting an inequity that has long existed: Radio stations pay songwriters, but not performers, when their music is played. Proponents say a performance royalty makes sense with changes in listening habits and in the way that some artists make money. As CD sales decline, an increasing share of their returns come from concerts and other live appearances. But oppents say that the addition of more royalty payments would be to great of a finacial burden. The bill “couldn’t come at a worse time in the radio business,” says John Gallagher, market manager for Greater Media’s three Detroit stations. He characterizes the bill as an effort by record labels — which in many cases will split the royalty with the artist — to make up for lost revenue as listeners have shifted to digital downloads. And, Gallagher warns, if the bill becomes law, “I would have to take a hard look at how much music we play and which artists we play.” He says his stations each pay about a $500,000 per year to BMI and ASCAP for royalties to songwriters, and believes the new royalty would cost a similar amount. Dennis Wharton, spokesman for the National Assn. of Broadcasters, says many stations would be forced to switch to all-talk formats if the bill’s provisions are enacted. He then pulls out a big gun in the broadcasters’ arsenal, invoking a dire scenario guaranteed to terrify many in the Democratic-controlled Congress: “More stations could potentially switch to Rush Limbaugh.” Broadcasters have also raised the issue of race, specifically the impact that the bill would have on minority-owned media. Cathy Hughes, founder of Radio One, the country’s largest African-American radio broadcaster, said in on-air commentary that the bill would “murder black-owned radio.”
