If you thought the record labels' fight to raise webcasting royalties and apply performance royalties to AM/FM stations was about record labels showing some vision in the digital age regarding trading sales revenue for airplay revenue, think again.
Rep. Howard Berman, a Democrat representing a district of Los Angeles, admits that he is biased towards expanding the performance right, and that he has wanted to do so for more than twenty years -- well before the internet started threatening the traditional "promote for free on radio" music sales model.
If radio airplay still has the power to drive sales, as ICBC BroadcastHoldings president Charles Warfield claimed yesterday at the hearing,
then Berman's first caveat flies out the window. His second -- that"terrestrial broadcasters, large and small, remain a viable source ofmusic" -- is debatable, of course (with a few notable exceptions).
Other highlights from the hearing include Marybeth Peters, Registrar ofCopyrights, claiming that American artists and labels currently loseabout $70 million per year due to the fact that they can't collect fromcountries overseas where a radio performance royalty rate is in placebecause that royalty is not currently collected in the US.
Although yesterday's hearing was all about terrestrial radio, theoutcome could affect webcasters too, since they're currently tryingnegotiating their way out of their own royalty rate disaster.
(via hollywood reporter)
