The House passed a bill designed to give small Webcasters relief from royalty payments for music streamed on the Internet. A deal crafted between small Web casters and the record labels Sunday night for royalty fees became part of H.R.-5469, by Rep. James Sensenbrenner, R-Wis. The measure now moves to the Senate.
According to Reuters, online broadcasters agreed to pay a rate of between 8 % to 12 % of revenue rather than a previously set pr-song rate that many Web casters feared could have driven them out of business.
The deal also includes an installment plan for retroactive payments covering 1998 through today. Instead of coming due all at once on Oct. 20, back royalties can be paid in three equal installments, with the first due Nov. 30.
NAB believes radio shouldn’t pay double royalties and has appealed the per-song rate set by the Librarian of Congress. The appeal is pending in federal court.
House Passes Streaming Relief
House Passes Streaming Relief
