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Published by Randall Krause on Thursday, April 26, 2007  [Permalink] [Return to Top]

New Webcaster Bill Promises Royalty Fairness

Reps Inslee and Manzulla Launch Internet Radio Equality Act

The Internet Radio Equality Act was introduced into the House yesterday afternoon by Rep. Jay Inslee (Washington) and Rep. Donald Manzullo (Illinois) along with eight cosponsors (the initial projections were between five and ten). Many more cosponsors are likely to come onboard once they start receiving telephone calls from constituents today as well as throughout the coming week.

You can read the full text of the proposed legislation here:
        http://www.smallwebcaster.org/media/internetradio...

The Action Alert message on the SaveNetRadio Coalition homepage has been updated to reflect the next phase of the campaign: Webcasters, listeners, and artists are now encouraged to call their Representatives and ask them to cosponsor H.R. 2060. The site functionality has also changed to include relevant telephone numbers and talking points.

The most notable provisions of this Act, as it applies to small commercial Webcasters, include:

        A) Nullify the Copyright Royalty Judges' ruling for new rates and terms.
        B) Establish interim rates and terms for all classes of Webcasters:
                1) Monthly Listenership Fee - At 0.33 cents per aggregate tuning hour.
                2) Percentage of Revenue Fee (Option) - At 7.5% of service revenue.
                3) Minimum Annual Fee - Limited to $500 per service.
        C) Change the method for determining rates and terms going forward.

The goal of this Act, which was devised by the SaveNetRadio Coalition, will be to bring the royalty rates and terms for Internet radio into parity with those already in place for satellite radio.

Randall Krause
Executive Director
Small Webcaster Community Initiative
randall@smallwebcaster.org

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