Broadcasting Issues

LS512: Current and Future Issues in Music Law

Unit 8 Seminar

What You Will Learn

• What rights are set in broadcasting?

• What rights are under dispute?

• What are the viewpoints of the various players?

Starting an Online Station

• This week we are going to start an online station to help illustrate some of the issues the industry is facing

• First, let’s list the type of offerings for our internet-based station– Interactive streaming– Podcasts– Digital downloads upsell

Interactive Streaming

• What types of royalties should we plan on paying for interactive streaming?

• What rates are currently not clear and/or seem unfair?– How is this impacted by the type of radio station we

are (ie public broadcaster, small webcaster, larger webcaster, terrestrial radio station rebroadcasting)

Digital Download Upsell

• We want to enable users the ability to buy any song they listen to on our site with a digital download– Can we sell everything we play on the radio? Why or

why not? Is this fair?– What royalties should we have to pay. What are

royalties that are being argued that we may also have to pay. Why?

The Players

• What are the ‘beefs’ for the various players involved in our station?– Broadcasters– PROs– Record Labels– Songwriters and Publishers– Non-Songwriting Performers– Listeners.

• What would be different depending on the type of station we offered

Issue of the Week

• Copyright Board Royalty Rates

• http://soundexchange.com/2010/12/17/looking-for-the-copyright-royalty-boards-2011-2015-rates/

Summary

• Actual rates for streaming and downloading are still under dispute– Even PRO rights are under dispute – from non-songwriting

performers

• Each ‘player’ in the value chain has a least a modest argument as to why they should be compensated– There are a lot of hands in the cookie jar, which has been part

of the problem in making a viable business model

Questions?