Comments on: Senate Subcommittee Approves Music Royalty Bill http://radio2020.wordpress.com/2008/06/30/senate-subcommittee-approves-music-royalty-bill/ A Guide for Broadcast Industry Professionals on the Future of Radio Wed, 16 Dec 2009 15:18:57 +0000 http://wordpress.com/ hourly 1 By: George Williams http://radio2020.wordpress.com/2008/06/30/senate-subcommittee-approves-music-royalty-bill/#comment-235 George Williams Wed, 09 Jul 2008 17:57:48 +0000 http://radio2020.wordpress.com/?p=268#comment-235 In my opinion it is al based in the confusion over intellectual property that has arisen since the dawn of the easily accessible web. With major discussions going on nation wide about the nature of copyright, the rise of copyleft and Creative Commons, and a music industry royalty model based on 17th century British sheet music laws we have a serious gumbo of confusion occurring. There are many smaller, local stations that will be unable to continue or compete if this royalty model goes into effect. The re-engineering of business models is always a serious concern in the modern day. Oft times the legislators making the rules have little to no understanding of the technology, much less its ramification. This is not the old world anymore. In my opinion it is al based in the confusion over intellectual property that has arisen since the dawn of the easily accessible web. With major discussions going on nation wide about the nature of copyright, the rise of copyleft and Creative Commons, and a music industry royalty model based on 17th century British sheet music laws we have a serious gumbo of confusion occurring.

There are many smaller, local stations that will be unable to continue or compete if this royalty model goes into effect.

The re-engineering of business models is always a serious concern in the modern day. Oft times the legislators making the rules have little to no understanding of the technology, much less its ramification.

This is not the old world anymore.

]]> By: Neil Hepburn http://radio2020.wordpress.com/2008/06/30/senate-subcommittee-approves-music-royalty-bill/#comment-233 Neil Hepburn Fri, 04 Jul 2008 19:39:26 +0000 http://radio2020.wordpress.com/?p=268#comment-233 This gets more confusing by the day. I'm curious how this bill relates to the CRB decision from last year. Generally speaking, the whole royalty thing seems to be in such disarray. First we hear that SoundExchange is auditing Last.FM and then we find out that ASCAP has sent AOL, Yahoo!, and RealNetworks a bill for $100 million (which was negotiated differently). I follow the various industry newsletters, and read the legistlative copy, but I get the feeling that there isn't a single person out there who understands what's going on in the US, let alone wrt international copyright law. The lack of clarity has stifled investment and by extension has limited innovation. Personally, I believe that Internet radio can survive and even thrive with the higher royalty rates (although it won't be easy), but we need clarity before taking this giant leap to rejigging business models. This gets more confusing by the day.
I’m curious how this bill relates to the CRB decision from last year.

Generally speaking, the whole royalty thing seems to be in such disarray. First we hear that SoundExchange is auditing Last.FM and then we find out that ASCAP has sent AOL, Yahoo!, and RealNetworks a bill for $100 million (which was negotiated differently).

I follow the various industry newsletters, and read the legistlative copy, but I get the feeling that there isn’t a single person out there who understands what’s going on in the US, let alone wrt international copyright law. The lack of clarity has stifled investment and by extension has limited innovation. Personally, I believe that Internet radio can survive and even thrive with the higher royalty rates (although it won’t be easy), but we need clarity before taking this giant leap to rejigging business models.

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