An agreement between SoundExchange and the Corporation for Public Broadcasting finalizes new webstreaming royalty rates that will apply 2016-2020.
The Copyright Royalty Board has published the rates and terms as part of the ongoing “Webcasting IV” procedure.
The five-year agreement (PDF) covers NPR, American Public Media, Public Radio International, Public Radio Exchange and up to 530 originating public radio stations, according to the board announcement.
“This new agreement, running through 2020, extends the current arrangement. Annual payments from CPB to SoundExchange will be made to fully satisfy the webcasting royalty obligations of all the entities for the covered period,” said an NPR spokesperson.
The new agreement also includes the National Federation of Community Broadcasters, according to NPR.
The agreement calls for CPB to pay a license fee to SoundExchange of $560,000 annually for five years, according to a notice published in the Federal Register.
“The new five-year agreement with SoundExchange reflects a reasonable increase from the previous arrangement and recognizes the unique nature of public radio as a public service,” Tish King, senior VP for communications for CPB, told Radio World. “Because this contract with SoundExchange regards public radio as a single enterprise rather than as group of individual stations, CPB is able to secure these license rights for online music use by the entire public radio system for a much lower cost than would be required if each station needed to secure these rights on their own.”
