1. Should Broadcasters pay performance Royalties ?. By: Christopher Weal

2. Patrick Leahy D-VT), chairman of Senate Judiciary Committee Senator Orrin Hatch (R-UT) Committee on Foreign Affairs Chairman Howard Berman (D-CA) Rep. Darrell Issa (R-CA) RIAA(Recording Industry Associations of America) MusicFIRST (Fairness in Radio Starting Today) Coalition The Major Player for Performance Royalties.

3. NAB (National Associations of Broadcasters) Rep. Gene Green (D-TX) Rep. Mike Conway (R-Texas) House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Charles B. Rangel (D-N.Y Free Radio Alliance Major Players against Performance Royalties

4. The RIAA (Recording Industry Associations of America) wants terrestrial radio stations to pay royalties to the artist for using their music. Today radio stations only pay royalties to composers and publishers through fees that are paid to ASCAP,BMI and SESAC. Those payments are required under Section 106 of the Copyright Act. RIAA also argues that the U.S. is the only country that does not require radio stations to pay artist. What's The problem?

5. NAB argues that performers shouldn’t be paid by radio stations because radio is primarily a promotional device for new music: Airplay gets listeners interested in a song or artist and drives them to go buy the music, providing revenue to the record companies, which therefore should be the ones paying the artist. Radio stations owners pay about 2 percent of their revenue to ASCAP,BMI and SESAC which is roughly 450 million a year. If the law is past it could cost radio stations about $7 billion year. Problem Continues….

6. Contained a performance royalty for the broadcast of sound recordings over the satellite and cable radio (but not over-the-air terrestrial broadcast stations. First time artist was paid royalties Digital Performance Right in Sound Recordings Act of 1995

7. Created a similar royalty payment for performing sound recordings over the Internet. Payment made to SoundExchange, Inc ( which was formed as an unincorporated arm of the RIAA and later spun off as a separate entity). Digital Millennium Copyright Act of 1998

8. 1) grant performers of sound recordings equal rights to compensation from terrestrial broadcasters; (2) establish a flat annual fee in lieu of payment of royalties for individual terrestrial broadcast stations with gross revenues of less than $1.25 million and for non-commercial, public broadcast stations; (3) grant an exemption from royalty payments for broadcasts of religious services and for incidental uses of musical sound recordings; and (4) grant terrestrial broadcast stations that make limited feature uses of sound recordings a per program license option. Provides that nothing in this Act shall adversely affect the public performance rights or royalties payable to songwriters or copyright owners of musical works Performace Right Act

9. The royalty payments would be set by the Copyright Royalty Board any individual terrestrial broadcast station that has less than $ 1.25 million in gross revenues in a given calendar year will pay a flat fee of $5,000.00 per year any noncommercial educational station -- can pay a flat fee of $1,000.00 per year PRA continued…

10. Introduced to the House in October 2007 declares that Congress should not impose any new performance fee, tax, royalty, or other charges relating to the public performance of sound recordings on a local radio station for broadcasting sound recordings over-the-air, or on any business for such public performance of sound recordings. A concurrent bill was introduced to the Sentate at the same time. Local Radio Freedom Act

11. As of today, April 7, 2009 the “SoundExchange and the National Association of Broadcasters (NAB) announced today a comprehensive agreement on Internet streaming rates for local radio stations that simulcast programming over the Internet or that create new stand-alone Internet stations. The agreement provides discounts on previously-set rates for 2009 and 2010 and establishes rates for 2011-2015, providing stations with an enhanced ability to serve listeners through online platforms. Update

12. Under the agreement, rates for simulcasts or web channels operated by local radio stations are reduced in 2009 and 2010 by approximately 16 percent, and then gradually increase through 2015 - from $0.0015 per streamed sound recording in 2009 to $0.0025 per stream by 2015. Update continue….