[Archive 2007-05-01] Internet Radio Equality Act proposed

Historical archive — originally published 2007-05-01. This report records what was known on that date. It is not current news; subsequent events may have changed the situation. Wikinews closed in May 2026.

Internet radio broadcasters may find a savior in a recent proposition in the US Congress. The recently proposed Internet Radio Equality Act, introduced by representatives Jay Inslee (D-WA) and Donald Manzullo (R-IL), would strive to revert the drastic changes applied to Internet radio royalties by the Copyright Royalty Board (CRB) that will go into effect on May 15, 2007, and retroactive since January 1, 2006. The proposition aligns Internet broadcasting fees to be more inline with those of satellite radio, for a flat fee of 7.5% of the broadcaster's revenue, rather than the CRB rules of .08 (2006) to .19 (2010) cents per song for private broadcasters, or $500 per month for public broadcasters if below a specific number of listening hours.

According to Inslee, the fees that would go into effect on May 15 would be a chokehold on democracy, and claimed in a statement that webmasters need a functioning business model.

SoundExchange, supportive of the CRB rules and a major collector of artist royalties from radio stations, has claimed the new fees are necessary to pay the artists that deserve it.

Source and licence

Text adapted from Internet Radio Equality Act proposed by Wikinews contributors under CC BY 2.5. Paragraphs have been selected and abridged, and formatting adjusted. Contributor history.