 RAIN 10/8: "Guitar Hero" could feasibly flip webcast royalty dynamic, says Oxenford ·Oct 8, 12:12 PM IF LABELS “PAY TO PLAY” ON “GUITAR HERO,” THINGS COULD CHANGE FOR NET RADIO ROYALTIESActivision chief Robert Kotick, whose company produces the popular video game series “Guitar Hero,” recently suggested that instead of paying to license copyright music for its games, Activision should charge copyright owners for the promotion and sales increases that come from being featured in the game. Industry attorney David Oxenford says this gambit may have implications for how the U.S. Copyright Royalty Board determines future webcasting music royalties. As he explains, the CRB “has always assumed that there would be some agreed upon value of music, as interactive or on-demand providers of music, such as video game makers, have traditionally paid for the use of the music they feature. Were this paradigm to change, music services could well argue that Internet radio and other services… should pay little or nothing for that royalty given the promotional value that they deliver.”
What this requires, however, is proof, Oxenford advises. While it may be easy to correlate sales increases following isolated use of a song (such as in a single game), trying to pin sales to play on the varied and ever-evolving Internet radio medium will be tougher. Read more from Oxenford in the Broadcast Law Blog here. RADIO NEEDN’T FEAR AFTRA ONLINE AD POLICY, EXPLAINS LANESeven years after the issue first arose, some broadcasters are still unsure about their liability when it comes to streaming ads that were produced for on-the-air use. But Internet radio ad veteran Jennifer Lane insists “there is nothing unclear, undecided, or complex about licensing a commercial for use on Internet radio.”
In April, 2001, the American Federation of Television and Radio Actors (AFTRA, which represents commercial voice talent) reminded radio that it could face penalties and possible litigation for streaming ads that In her Audio4Cast blog (here), Lane explains that licensing these ads for use online requires a one-time, upfront fee (three times the session fee for on-air use) for unlimited usage during the contract period. SAO PAOLO BROADCASTER USES SOCIAL WEB AS GUIDE FOR STATIONThe BBC reports on a Brazilian broadcast radio station built around the principles of community-based “Web 2.0” sites like Digg.com and Last.fm, and “has discovered how to turn radio into a new medium.” Radar Cultura, based in Sao Paolo, lets its listeners vote for songs they want to hear, chat with other listeners, and create custom playlists on the station site. “The most popular tracks become the set list for the programme and the resulting show is broadcast over the airwaves and is also available via the net,” writes the BBC (it’s not mentioned if such a use of music is legally licensed).
Andre Avorio, who created the station last year, explained he used free “open source” software called Drupal to manage the content. Now the entire station and its site are based on Drupal tools. He explained, it’s about “giving the audience the power to choose the music, publish content related to their main interests – so that we can explore together all the issues that concern them most.” Read the BBC story here. ANALYSTS SAY TOUGH TIMES AHEAD WON’T SPARE MEDIAAs ad buyers tighten belts in a sour economy, media needs to brace itself for lean times. The Wall Street Journal reports that a Goldman Sachs projection holds that weak ad markets will make 2009 similar to the 2001 downturn. Barclays Capital, in a revision of its Internet ad spending projections, lowered its U.S. online ad spend prediction for 2008 5.3% to $24.8 billion. Finally, new data from the Interactive Advertising Bureau and PricewaterhouseCoopers indicate the growth rate for U.S. online ad spending has slowed sharply. Wall Street Journal subscribers can read the article here.share: del.icio.us.  Reddit  Digg  Yahoo  Wink  Windows  Google  Newsvine 
Comment Other stories RAIN 7/2: UK's Telegraph says DAB's been a problem; Internet radio "the solution" RAIN 7/1: Obama approves Webcaster Settlement Act of 2009 News Flash: President signs Webcaster Settlement Act of 2009 RAIN 6/30: New York Times picks 7 stand-out mobile radio apps, including FlyCast and Sirius XM RAIN 6/29: Autonet selling in-car Wi-Fi directly to consumers RAIN 6/26: Nielsen study shows radio down, but not out, among teens RAIN 6/25: Google selling ads in mobile apps; FlyCast creates unique WEEI app NPD: "Tweeters" almost twice as likely to listen to Net radio as others online RAIN 6/23: Stern blames rights issues for iPhone snag RAIN 6/22: Dahl to return to radio will daily podcast |
weren’t licensed for online use. Many broadcasters shut down their streams entirely to avoid risk (
