Hoping not to renew a recent battle over Internet music royalties, a new two-year deal between Webcasters and the recording industry calls for Webcasters to pay similar to a Copyright Office mandate of 70 cents a song - but allows Webcasters to keep four percent of their songs played royalty-free.
The American Federation of Musicians and the Digital Media Association cut the deal at last on April 3, and all that's needed to put it into effect is approval from the Copyright Office, according to CNN.
The deal covers royalties to be paid by Webcasters like Yahoo, America Online, Microsoft, and RealNetworks for 2003 and 2004. "We are delighted to have reached an agreement that will bring compensation to musicians without a costly arbitration," said AFM president Thomas Lee. "We hope webcasting will bring more music to more fans." And DMA executive director Jonathan Potter said the deal saves his industry millions in legal fees while letting it concentrate on "high quality programming that is enjoyed by millions of listeners."
Webcasters fell under royalty law in 1998, with the Copyright Office declaring the 70-cents-a-song per thousand listeners rule, after the AFM and DMA couldn't agree on their own to a final rate, CNN said. The Webcasters argued those fees - paid retroactively to 1998 - cost hundreds of thousands a year, more than they were making from advertising or contributions, CNN added.
