P2P-Zone - Compromise Reached On Webcasting Fees

After months of intense lobbying and a week of non-stop negotiation a compromise was reached Monday in Congress that significantly rolls back the fees small Webcasters will have to pay to record companies and rights distributors for the privilege of streaming copyrighted music over the internet. The original fees, which over-the-air radio broadcasters don't have to pay, were so high that over 95 percent of the smaller Webcasters were forced to shut down because they couldn't afford them. The new law, still to be ratified in the senate, changes the parameters for stations making less than $250,000 a year ($1,000,000 in 2004). Instead of paying a flat per song/per listener rate Webcasters will now pay annual fees in the neighborhood of 10 percent of revenue or 7 percent of expenses (whichever is greater). This should (may) satisfy the home hobbyists, the hardest hit among all netcasters, but when the bill comes due for the bigger stations (12 percent when revenue climbs above $250,000) expect to see more challenges.

In the meantime outlets like Soma FM and GRRRL Radio may soon be coming back to a Winamp player near you.

- js.