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BY MICHAEL SCHMITT
While debate over terrestrial radio performance royalty fees raged yesterday, at least one member of Congress held an open ear to internet radio’s pleas—Rep. Zoe Lofgren (D-CA) (pictured) expressed a desire for congressional action to change net radio’s performance royalty rates. She stated, “The industry that’s really in trouble today is Internet radio.” Her position may be due to Pandora and other webcasters’ lobbying efforts. Pandora’s chief executive Joe Kennedy and founder Tim Westergren have both been making the rounds at Congress, trying to persuade legislators about the disparity between net and satellite radio royalty fees. Westergren has declared that 70% of Pandora’s revenue would go towards paying performance fees (RAIN coverage here), meanwhile satellite and cable radio pay between 6% and 15% of their revenue. Kennedy also expressed expectation, in an interview in the Washington Post’s blog (here), that other webcasters such as LIVE365 and AOL Radio will now “beef up their own lobbying efforts.” For more read CNN Money’s coverage here.

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