Rich Fiscus
11 Feb 2009 14:32
The deadline set by lawmakers last year for SoundExchange and webcasters to come to a deal over internet radio royalties is nearly here. Having failed to find enough common ground so far, SoundExchange seems to be specifically targetting smaller operations.
Their new proposal would apparently give the smallest commercial internet radio operations even bigger breaks than past offers would have. It would create a category called "microcasters" whose minimum royalty payments would be just $500 annually plus a $100 reporting waiver fee.
Where SoundExchange's true colors begin to shine through is another provision on acquisitions. It says "the small webcaster taking this deal may not sell to any entity that is or will participate in a proceeding to set rates and terms for webcasting."
Perhaps they're hoping a divide and conquer strategy will do what more than a year of "we won so deal with it" hasn't. Or maybe they just want to give the appearance of good faith to avoid the wrath of Congress.
Whatever their reasoning, it seems Pandora's Tim Westergern was being overly optimistic when he predicted a deal for the industry was near last fall.