Black Press Magazine.com presents DC's Dish

Death of Internet Radio? 'Net radio saved...for now

(BlackPressMagazine.com) - July 15, 2007 was supposed to be "D-day" for Internet radio programmers who feared that royalty fees would cause the death of the popular new medium. But, thanks to pressure from the public, musicians and Congress, Internet radio has received a stay from the recording industry and the federal Copyright Royalty Board, at least for now.

At issue was a hefty rate increase in the amount of money that online stations would pay for playing music on the Internet.

Previously, Internet radio stations paid 0.0762 cent per play of each song, and small Webcasters, who generate little or no advertising, were charged based on a percentage of their revenue to relieve them of onerous royalty bills. But the new rate system eliminated that protection and called for the rate per play to more than double by 2010. It also required a separate fee of $500 a station, a potentially hefty charge for big Webcasters that offer thousands of customized stations.

In a new proposal disclosed on July 14, SoundExchange, an industry-backed organization that collects royalties for record labels and artists, said that it would agree to cap the minimum fee at $50,000 a year — if Webcasters provided more data about which songs they play and take steps to prevent listeners from using their computers to copy or store the radio streams.

The two sides still disagree on other aspects of the new rates. Big Internet companies that offer online radio, including Yahoo and RealNetworks, had been battling the planned increase. National Public Radio, which streams music and other programming online, had also rallied listeners to protest the rates.

The reprieve came as federal lawmakers had begun discussing legislation that would enact reduced fees. But there had been no indication of when the legislation would come up for a vote.

Over 350,000 people have tuned in to BlackPressRadio.com for exclusive podcast interviews with some of Black America's most important media professionals, musicians, actors and songwriters.

As of October 31, 2007, BlackPodcasts.com/BlackPressRadio.com has 352,581 listeners up from over 90,000 on July 4, 2007. In addition, BlackPressRadio.com reported over 300,000 people have downloaded the podcasts to the iPod or computer, up more from over 75,000 in July.

The numbers are growing so fast BlackPressRadio didn't have time to enjoy their 50,000th download commercial from this summer. They are now working on the 300,000th download version.

Nearly than 40,000 people have downloaded Buckeey's podcast to their iPod, mp3 player or computer, while former 7 week champion Tango follows close behind with over 38,500 downloads. He still maintains the record for the most listens, which isn't shown to the public.

"We don't make the number of listens available to the public but you can track amount of downloads by the number of "Plays" next to each podcast," said DC Livers, managing editor for Black Press Magazine. "Our IT team is hard at work developing some really cool features and with our upcoming coverage of major events, I think the best is yet to come," said Livers.

The stations also lost a separate bid to delay or stop the new rates in court. A federal appeals panel this week declined to put off the rates — a decision that had appeared to seal the fate of Webcasters who worried that the royalty charges would put them out of business.

To hear the Death of 'Net Radio: The Podcast with radio veterans Lee Bailey and Joe Madison, visit http://www.blackpressradio.com and enter keyword: "NET RADIO" or "JOE MADISON."

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