Published by Randall Krause on Friday, April 27, 2007 [Permalink] [Return to Top]
How Equitable Is the Internet Radio Equality Act?
I was pleased to see the Internet Radio Equality Act introduced yesterday, particularly on such short notice. The diligence on the part of SaveNetRadio Coalition is highly commendable.
However, I am nonetheless concerned that a percentage of revenue option is again to be instituted (and this time, with no apparent restriction on eligibility). Furthermore, the minimum annual fee is to be substantially reduced for those Webcasters electing the percentage of revenue option. And even more disconcerting, this minimum annual fee is to be set at a predetermined maximum (which does not take into account inflation or other variable economic conditions).
I see very limited rationale for making these radical, short-sighted adjustments (particularly reductions) to the royalty rates and terms that were already in place for small commercial Webcasters prior to the Copyright Royalty Board ruling of March 2, 2007.
If in fact the Small Webcaster Settlement Act served as a precedent while formulating this proposed legislation, then a $2000 minimum annual fee should be reinstated for all small commercial Webcasters that elect the percentage of revenue option. An appropriately set minimum-annual fee will still ensure the survival of all but the most inefficient business models, which makes absolute sense if the streaming media industry is expected to mature and progress with time.
However, these royalty rates and terms set forth in the Internet Radio Equality Act, should be appropriately reflective of past legislation — so long as it can be proven that such legislation lent a significant advantage to the marketplace. And the streaming media industry clearly thrived for several years after the SWSA was enacted in 2002. Therefore, to effectively ignore specific provisions of the SWSA while maintaining others appears to be nothing short of an expedient.
While I can appreciate this attempt to bring royalties from all digital broadcast services into parity, both satellite radio and Internet radio are nonetheless two markedly different mediums. I am not convinced that either one should inherently function as a royalty-setting benchmark for the other.
Allow me to pose the question: How many startup companies are currently operating their own independent satellite radio network in the United States?
Randall Krause
Small Webcaster Community Initiative
randall@smallwebcaster.org
