After a long week, webcasters protesting royalty rate hikes may have gained some ground, albeit only a little bit. First, there was the Day of Silence protest that gained some media attention. Then, the U.S. House Small Business Committee conducted a hearing to consider overturning the decisions on how rate fees are determined. The result of that hearing was the decision that Congress wouldn t intervene in the issue, leaving webcasters and the music industry to try to work on a compromise on their own. Surprisingly, SoundExchange has issued a press release indicating a willingness to cap some of the minimum fees for webcasters. It s not a great deal; it only lasts through 2008 and was a decision made by SoundExchange without negotiation. But it s something. The webcasters won’t be going permanently silent yet.
5 comment(s)