Live365 issued a press release last week that included charts detailing the breakdown of indie music vs. RIAA member label music on terrestrial AM/FM radio vs. Live365's webcasters. As one would suspect, small webcasters cater to indie music a lot more than RIAA member labels do.
SoundExchange moved out of the RIAA's offices in January, but the two groups represent pretty much the same labels. Some onlookers have claimed that SoundExchange/RIAA labels want harsher terms for webcasters because they play less major label music. What still doesn't make sense under that scenario, is that SoundExchange refused to grant leniency to terrestrial radio stations when it comes to paying the new rates. Could the big labels really be scared that AM/FM stations would include more indie music as their online presences grow stronger?
