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Senate Approves Webcaster Settlement Act
Contact: Jake Ward
202 420 8056
Wednesday , October 01, 2008
Senate Approves Webcaster Settlement Act
Solution for Webcasters May Be Nearing
WASHINGTON D.C. – Legislation authorizing SoundExchange to negotiate royalty agreements with webcasters on behalf of copyright owners and performers before the end of the year has been approved by the U.S. Senate. The Webcaster Settlement Act of 2008 (H.R. 7084), passed unanimously in the House of Representatives earlier this week, was approved by the Senate yesterday evening and now awaits President Bush’s signature.
“This legislation is not the final answer,” said SaveNetRadio spokesperson, Jake Ward, “but it is an essential step toward a lasting and much-needed solution. For more than eighteen months, our champions in Congress have fought battle after battle to ensure Internet radio’s survival and the prosperity of independent artists; that fight has not been in vain. The SaveNetRadio campaign and its members thank the original sponsors of the Internet Radio Equality Act, Congressman Jay Inslee, Congressman Donald Manzullo, Senator Ron Wyden and Senator Sam Brownback for their tireless support and leadership for innovators and artists. We also thank Chairman Berman, Chairman Conyers, Chairman Leahy, and Ranking Members Smith and Specter for their leadership in support of the Webcaster Settlement Act. Thanks to them and many others in both the House and the Senate, today’s approval of the Webcaster Settlement Act has cleared the way for private negotiations that hopefully will confirm Internet radio’s future.”
The Webcaster Settlement Act specifically authorizes Internet radio services and agents for copyright owners and performers to negotiate new royalty agreements retroactive to 2005, and could potentially resolve future disputes through 2015.
The bill (H.R. 7084), was originally introduced in the U.S. House of Representatives by Congressman (D–WA) Jay Inslee and co-sponsored by Reps. Howard Berman (D-CA), Donald Manzullo (R-IL), John Conyers (D-MI) and Lamar Smith (R-TX).
BACKGROUND:
A March 2, 2007, decision by the Copyright Royalty Board (CRB), a division of the Library of Congress charged with establishing performance royalty rates for “digital radio” broadcasters, increased rates for webcasters by an unjustified and unprecedented 300 to 1200 percent.
Since the Copyright Royalty Board (CRB) increase royalty rates for webcasters 16 months ago, there has been an immediate and devastating effect on Internet radio services. Three of the most-listened-to services (AOL Radio, Yahoo! Radio and Pandora) have either left the business, limited listener access to their services, or announced they are likely to shut down in the near future if royalties are not significantly reduced. Just as importantly from the perspective of the artists that depend upon Internet radio, recent Arbitron data demonstrates clearly that royalty-paying webcast listening has diminished substantially since the CRB decision.
Legislation introduced in May of 2007 to correct the discrepancy between Internet radio and cable and satellite radio providers by establishing an equal rate for all digital radio – cable, satellite and internet radio – at 7.5% of revenue has been cosponsored by more than 150 Members of Congress. The Internet Radio Equality Act (S. 1353/H.R. 2060) was introduced in the U.S. Senate by Ron Wyden (D-OR) and Sam Brownback (R-KA) and in the House by Congressman Jay Inslee (D-WA) and Don Manzullo (R-IL).
For more information on the SaveNetRadio coalition visit www.savenetradio.org