Music industry, Webcasters reach online music agreement WASHINGTON (AP) =97 The recording industry and Internet music broadcasters= =20 hope a new agreement will prevent a repeat of their recent battle over=20 online music royalties, allowing them to focus instead on providing better= =20 music services for consumers. The two sides agreed Thursday on how much=20 big Webcasters like Yahoo, America Online, Microsoft and RealNetworks must= =20 pay to broadcast songs over the Internet during 2003 and 2004. The new=20 deal, if approved by the U.S. Copyright Office, will allow the two=20 industries to avoid a lengthy arbitration process to set royalty=20 rates. "We are delighted to have reached an agreement that will bring=20 compensation to musicians without a costly arbitration," said Thomas Lee,=20 president of the American Federation of Musicians. "We hope Webcasting will= =20 bring more music to more fans." Jonathan Potter, executive director of the= =20 Digital Media Association, which represents Webcasters, said that by saving= =20 his industry millions of dollars in legal fees, the agreement will allow=20 Webcasters to focus on providing "high-quality programming that is enjoyed= =20 by millions of listeners." Internet radio =97 either simulcasts of traditional over-the-air radio or=20 Internet-only stations streamed over the Internet to computers =97 is=20 becoming more popular as people get high-speed connections. A 1998 law=20 required that organizations broadcasting music and other radio content over= =20 the Internet pay fees to record companies to compensate artists and music=20 labels for use of their songs. After the two sides were unable agree on=20 rates on their own, the Copyright Office ruled in June that Webcasters must= =20 pay about 70 cents for every song heard by 1,000 listeners as counted by=20 the Webcasters. The larger Webcasters complained the fees, which they paid= =20 retroactively back to 1998, cost them hundreds of thousands of dollars for= =20 each year, more than some of them get from advertising or listener=20 contributions. The Copyright Office was to begin another arbitration=20 between the parties next month to work out royalty payments for 2003 and=20 2004. The new deal, if approved, will make that process unnecessary. The agreement proposes a per-song rate similar to that set by the=20 government last year, but allows 4% of a Webcaster's songs to be free from= =20 royalties. The proposal also gives Webcasters the option of paying=20 royalties as a percentage of their revenue or at an hourly rate. Potter=20 said those choices will allow Webcasters to save money by picking the=20 method that works best for them. The new proposal does not apply to=20 Internet simulcasts of traditional over-the-air radio or to noncommercial=20 Webcasters such as college radio stations. Small Webcasters =97 typically= =20 operations that are listener-supported and reach, at most, just a few=20 thousand people =97 had complained the Copyright Office rates would force=20 them out of business. Legislation passed last year allowed them to pay=20 less. Those small Webcasters can choose to keep paying those rates or=20 follow the new ones. *************************************************** The owner of Roger's Trinbago Site/TnTisland.com Roj (Roger James) escape email mailto:ejames@xxxxxxxxx Trinbago site: www.tntisland.com Carib Brass Ctn site www.tntisland.com/caribbeanbrassconnection/ Steel Expressions www.mts.net/~ejames/se/ Site of the Week:http://www.ttsailing.org/ TnT Webdirectory: http://search.co.tt *********************************************************