 RAIN 8/7: Radio royalty could lead to ASCAP, BMI fee hike, says witness ·Aug 7, 12:05 PM REAL’S KIMBALL TELLS SENATE CMTE. PRA COULD HURT RADIO, WEBCASTERS IN ASCAP/BMI RATE SETTLEMENTCould royalty deals with SoundExchange affect how much webcasters pay for the right to use musical compositions in the future? Real Network’s Bob Kimball (pictured) raised the issue at Wednesday’s Senate Judiciary hearing on the Performance Rights Act (RAIN coverage here), and industry attorney David Oxenford discusses it in his blog (here).
According to Kimball, the language of the House version of the Performance Royalty Act would impose a double standard on music services (broadcasters and webcasters) and the organizations that collect and distribute the royalties to song composers and publishers (that is, ASCAP, BMI, and SESAC in the U.S., otherwise known as “performance rights organizations,” or “PROs”). Kimball says (as Oxenford reports) the PROs could use the new royalties radio would pay for the use of sound recordings as evidence as to why their rates should be raised — yet broadcasters and webcasters would not be allowed to use the sound recording royalty rate as an argument for lower composer/publisher rates. Speaking of precedents, Kimball also questioned “whether it was fair that some settlements on Internet radio royalties reached under the Webcasters Settlement Act were considered to be precedential for purposes of the next CRB proceeding, while other settlements were considered nonprecedential – seemingly at the choice of SoundExchange“ (from Oxenford). Read Oxenford’s BroadcastLawBlog here. And our coverage of Kimball’s call for royalty parity at the Senate Judiciary hearing is here. SLACKER PROMOTES SERVICE WITH FREE BLACKBERRY OFFERInternet radio service Slacker is now offering customers a free Blackberry Curve smartphone (here) when they agree to a two-year contract (or extension) with one of the major U.S. carriers. Slacker says the details differ slightly depending on which carrier (Verizon, AT&T, Sprint and T-Mobile) is chosen. It doesn’t appear that a commitment to Slacker’s premium Slacker Radio Plus service is required.
Slacker, of course, sells its own Net radio-dedicated portable device, the Slacker G2. However, the company also makes the service available via the Apple iPhone and iPod Touch, and it comes bundled with the new Sony Walkman (see RAIN coverage here). PARAGON’S JOHNSON SAYS INTERNET RADIO LACKING “MOMENTUM”Paragon consultant Larry Johnson questions why lots of people are apparently sampling Internet radio, but not sticking around in any number to significantly threaten broadcasters. In the Paragon blog yesterday he suggests a number of possible factors: the range of listening options amounts to a confusing “maze” of stations too time-consuming to navigate; the widespread “jukebox” approach to programming just isn’t compelling to listeners; or maybe it’s just because AM/FM simulcasters web-only stopsets “are painful to wade through.” It’s those Net radio listeners that do hang on and pile up the TSL, Johnson suggests, that may hold “the key for sustained, significant Internet Radio listening.” Read Paragon’s blog here.RHAPSODY LETS 12 GO AS COMPANY REFOCUSES ON MOBILE, SUBSCRIPTIONS TAKE A HITRealNetworks’ Rhapsody has laid off 12 staffers (about 9% of the group), according to PaidContent.org. Not only has Real chosen to focus more on “online and mobile applications, rather than the desktop client and the editorial,” but the company’s music subscriber base has shrunk from 2.9 million to its current 1.8 million (Rhapsody in particular saw its number of subscribers fall to 750,000, from 800,000 in the previous quarter). Read more here.share: del.icio.us.  Reddit  Digg  Yahoo  Wink  Windows  Google  Newsvine 
CommentCommenting is closed for this article.  Other stories RAIN has upgraded (and moved)! RAIN 9/13: RAIN Summit Chicago takes place today! RAIN 9/12: First Summit in RAIN's hometown takes place tomorrow RAIN 9/9: Summer holidays, "doldrums" impact July Webcast Metrics, but audience up over last year RAIN 9/8: Clear Channel launches new customizable iHeartRadio beta; RAIN goes hands-on RAIN 9/7: Meet more speakers you'll hear at RAIN Summit Chicago in less than a week RAIN 9/6: Clear Channel taps The Echo Nest to take on Pandora RAIN 9/2: RAIN reviews Spotify's radio-like product Artist Radio RAIN 9/1: UK online radio aggregator Radioplayer campaigns b'dcasters to create "all radio" ratings RAIN 8/31: Execs from Merlin, Triton Digital, jacAPPS and more to appear at RAIN Summit Chicago |
