How times have changed.
Yahoo Inc. announced this week it will cease operation of Yahoo Radio, which streamed on the Internet the signals of hundreds of terrestrial radio stations.
The operation it is shutting down had been known as Broadcast.com, acquired by Yahoo in 1999 for more than $5 billion in stock.
In September of 2000, Yahoo and the RIAA reached an agreement which established terms and conditions for music performances broadcast on Yahoo. That agreement expired last year. In fact it was the sole example of a “willing buyer and seller” that the Copyright Arbitration Royalty Panel used recently to establish music royalty rates for Webcasters.
Visitors to Yahoo Radio’s Web page found the statement “The future of Yahoo Radio is LAUNCHcast.” Yahoo will continue to offer some 30 programmed channels of music from the former Launch.com, acquired by Yahoo last year for $12 million.
Though early accounts said the stations’ streams would be gone in less than a week, Yahoo has indicated it will honor existing contracts with stations.
Yahoo Radio Streams to Disappear
Yahoo Radio Streams to Disappear