Copyright Royalty Board To Review Royalty Rate Hike
The Copyright Royalty Board (CRB) has finally agreed to a rehearing of an earlier streaming royalty rate hike that miffed many in the industry. The rehearing comes after several influential broadcasters, including NPR and KCRW, applied massive pressure on the Board.
“The Copyright Royalty Judges desire to hear the positions of each party on each of the issues raised in these motions,” the decision declared. The document was signed by James Scott Sledge, chief copyright royalty judge. The document cited several major players who petitioned, including National Public Radio (NPR), Royalty Logic, Inc., Radio Broadcasters, Digital Media Alliance (DiMA), Intercollegiate Broadcasting System, Inc., WHRB, Small Commercial Webcasters, and Collegiate Broadcasters, Inc. Those groups have been exerting public influence through public relation campaigns, Congressional testimony, and grassroots efforts.
The rehearing will most likely garner a more reasonable rate structure, and save many small and mid-sized online broadcasters. The original CRB decision, which largely follows biased recommendations from SoundExchange, replaces royalty calculations based on a percentage of overall revenue with per-play penny rates.
