Music Industry, Webcasters Agree On Royalty Rate
from the which-webcasters? dept
Remember all the stories last year about the battles between the RIAA and webcasters about how much they should pay for webcasting online? Back in November it was announced they had reached a solution that made most people happy, but, for some reason, today they announced another solution. What I’m wondering on all of these is who, exactly, is representing the entire set of webcasters out there. It seems like a difficult group to get to work together under a single banner. I’d imagine, like in previous negotiations, that it’s basically a few of the larger webcasters hammering out a sweetheart deal for themselves.
Comments on “Music Industry, Webcasters Agree On Royalty Rate”
Clarification. I think.
From the yahoo article:
The two sides agreed Thursday on how much big webcasters like Yahoo!, America Online, Microsoft and RealNetworks must pay to broadcast songs over the Internet during 2003 and 2004.
And from the article you linked to (and the yahoo one too):
SoundExchange said the proposal did not cover rates for noncommercial Webcasters or simultaneous broadcasts of over-the-air radio transmissions.
So yeah, I think you’re right Mike. It does look like the big guys inking a sweet deal for themselves. But I think it only affects them. Hopefully.