ROYALTY DEBATE, WEBCAST RATES PICKING UP PRESS: The battle over performance royalty fees has received considerable press attention since the hearing in Congress on Wednesday, and has quickly expanded into the realm of webcasting royalty fees partly thanks to the efforts of Pandora. The New York Post reported today (here) that Pandora has hired Washington DC-based lobbying firm Parry, Romani, DeConcini & Symms to push modified webcaster royalty rates on Capitol Hill. Rather than fighting for no royalty fees at all (as proponents of the high webcasting royalty fees have alleged, see RAIN coverage here), Pandora is pushing legislators to support the Internet Radio Equality Act (H.R. 2060, and S. 1353), a measure setting royalty fees at 7.5% of a service’s revenue—a similar rate as that paid by satellite and cable radio (further RAIN coverage here). Meanwhile, Rep. Zoe Lofgren (D-CA) spoke out more on behalf of internet radio, reportedly stating, “If we’re going to take a look at the disparity across platforms, it would be a real mistake not to use the opportunity to take a look at Internet radio. If we wait too much longer, we’re not going to have a discussion because [Internet radio is] not going to exist anymore.” She has previously expressed support of congressionally-backed action to change net radio’s high royalty rates (RAIN coverage here). For more on the debate over performance royalty fees, read BusinessWeek’s coverage here, PC Magazine’s article here, and Politico’s write-up here.

XM RADIO COMING TO iPHONE: XM Radio Mobile will soon be supported on iPhone devices, announced Executive Vice President and Chief Marketing Officer of XM Satellite Radio Vernon Irvin. The mobile service currently works on AT&T, Alltel, or BlackBerry phones. While details about the release date of such support or how billing would work were not given, its rumored users would download the service from Apple’s App Store and the $9 a month fee would be included on users’ AT&T monthly bill. The announcement comes alongside news about AOL’s iPhone application (RAIN coverage here), which will deliver both AOL Radio’s internet radio stations and CBS Radio to iPhones. For more about XM Radio Mobile on the iPhone, read Ars Technica’s coverage here.

AIR2WEB PICKS UP FIRST CLIENT: Redlasso has announced its Air2Web service picked up its first client—Greater Media. The service aids radio broadcasters edit their content and post it online in podcast format, also allowing broadcasters to track listernership of each individual clip. Greater Media’s “Preston & Steve Show” from WMMR/Philadelphia will be the first show to use the service, posting their top five “bits” from that day’s show. “While we offer a full-length, daily podcast of the Preston and Steve Show, the Redlasso/High-Five section lets us offer shorter highlight ‘clips’ of special moments from their show, more likely to be shared with fans and potential converts,” said WMMR PD Bill Weston. For more coverage read FMQB’s article here.

NAB: PUT FM-CHIPS IN MOBILE DEVICES: The National Association of Broadcasters has released a new study claiming that if mobile devices were implemented with FM-capability, terrestrial radio “could reach 257 million American subscribers,” meaning the owners of 257 million active cell phones in America. The study (read the full study here) states that cellular service providers, handset manufacturers, and radio broadcasters “all stand to benefit” from the inclusion of FM in mobile devices through “increased cellular service subscriber satisfaction, ad-sharing opportunities…reduced-cost on-air cellular promotions,” and even increased music sales due to song-tagging. Why users would want FM radio when most smart phone devices can already access internet radio is open to question, but Kurt Hanson discusses the issue in his recent blog entries (here and here). Read the NAB’s press release here.

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