WXPN thinks it could be paying about $1 million a year in royalties under the CRB’s latest ruling.
“That could mean the end of streaming” for the AAA station in Philadelphia, which has three streams, WXPN, Y-Rock On XPN and XPoNential Music.
Station GM Roger LaMay told CNN, “We’re a nonprofit so we’re willing to lose a little money or break even. We’re also firm believers in the thinking that musicians should get paid for what they do,” LaMay said. “But this decision is telling people, ‘Don’t do this. Don’t go into this business. Don’t give these artists airplay.’”
On the West Coast, KCRW(FM) in Santa Monica, Calif., called itself the public radio station most affected by the new higher royalty rates. GM Ruth Seymour called the decision “truly egregious in that it treats successful non-commercial online music Webcasters as if they were commercial stations. We support NPR’s plans for a reconsideration of the CRB decision.” She said the station supports “reasonable royalty payments that rightly reward both artists and labels.”
Many federal agencies, she said, recognize the difference between for-profit and non-profit businesses. “We believe the CRB must honor that distinction.”
