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Time4aNAP
Premium
join:2007-04-09
Des Plaines, IL | reply to disc
Irony
As a licensed terrestrial radio broadcaster, WFMU is exempt from the back-breaking royalty rates. It's nice to have their support, but ironic since they have nothing to lose. | |
disc
join:2005-12-31
Raleigh, NC
| said by Time4aNAP  :As a licensed terrestrial radio broadcaster, WFMU is exempt from the back-breaking royalty rates. It's nice to have their support, but ironic since they have nothing to lose. Good point. I followed one of their links and they had this to say:
WFMU believes in compensating artists. We currently pay webcasting royalties to SoundExchange and will continue to do so, but we are protesting the new rate scheme for a number of reasons:
1. Under the new rates, non-commercial webcasters only get a break on the commercial royalty rate if they maintain small listenership numbers. In order to afford the astronomical new rates, WFMU may have to cap online listenership on our streams, limiting our accessibility to music fans.
2. SoundExchange has not been dutifully distributing webcasting royalties to artists, claiming on their website that they are unable to locate thousands of artists including Kraftwerk, The Replacements, Pizzicato Five, The Muffs, and even Warren G!
The second point is noble, but the first one certainly hits their bottom line. I would think it would hit all college stations that webcast too. | |
Time4aNAP
Premium
join:2007-04-09
Des Plaines, IL
| said by disc :The second point is noble, but the first one certainly hits their bottom line. I would think it would hit all college stations that webcast too. Not really. The station's rate card is based on OTA listeners, not the Internet listenership. Some advertisers might pay a token fee for the extra exposure from webcasts, but nothing compared to what they pay for the Nielsen and/or Arbitron rated coverage.
Up until now, streaming has been an inexpensive way to promote your station. If and when it stops being inexpensive, terrestrial broadcasters will simply stop streaming. That means that you'll no longer be able to listen to your favorite hometown radio station when you're on vacation, but it's no real loss for the station itself. | |
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