SoundExchange to Lower Royalties for Small Webcasters

Washington, DC -- Responding to Congressional pressure to compromise on new royalty rates for streaming music, SoundExchange, the record industry entity that collects and distributes digital music royalties, said that it will extend a program that lets small Internet radio stations pay below-market royalty rates. The organization said that it will extend the Small Webcaster Settlement Act (SWSA), which initially was enacted in 2002 and expired in 2005, through 2010 in an effort to keep small webcasters from going out of business. Many webcasters have stated that new royalty rates set by the Copyright Royalty Board (CRB) are so high that they will be forced off the air. "Although the rates revised by the CRB are fair and based on the value of music in the marketplace, there's a sense in the music community and in Congress that small webcasters need more time to develop their businesses," said John Simson, the executive director of SoundExchange. To qualify, webcasters must meet the definition of "small" set forth in the original wording of the SWSA.
http://www.soundexchange.com/news/documents/SWSA%20Extension%20Release.pdf (PDF)
http://www.soundexchange.com
http://www.copyright.gov/fedreg/2002/67fr78510.html