Diritti musicali e radio USA: nuove regole per le playlist

Non è affatto conclusa la vicenda, che ha tenuto banco per tutto l'anno passato, delle royalties che le radio americane devono versare per la diffusione di brani musicali. Dalla Copyright Royalty Board è arrivata una nota che fissa alcune novità sul sistema che le stazioni via etere, Internet, cavo e satellite devono utilizzare per riferire alla Commissione i brani effettivamente trasmessi e avere, sulla base di questi elenchi, l'esatta indicazione di quanto pagare. Le regole stabilite cinque anni fa imponevano alle stazioni radio di comunicare le rispettive "playlist" relative a periodi di due settimane ogni trimestre e ora invece la CRB intende chiedere elenchi continui e dettagliati. Per stazioni come Pandora non ci saranno problemi (le playlist vengono già comunicate in elettronico), ma questo nuovo requisito potrebbe risultare oneroso da rispettare per le radio più piccole, per esempio le stazioni universitarie. Ancora non sono state prese decisioni definitive, perché le controparti hanno adesso un mese di tempo per commentare sulla nuova proposta di regolamento. Inoltre, osserva questa breve cronaca di PC Magazine, per le Web radio non è ancora stata chiusa definitivamente la questione dell'entità dei diritti da versare. Una legge dello scorso ottobre aveva fissato il 15 febbraio prossimo come scadenza per la stesura di un accordo tra emittenti e titolari dei diritti. Se l'accordo non ci sarà, sarà la stessa CRB a fissare le tariffe

Web Radio Royalty Battle Takes New Turn

12.31.08

by Chloe Albanesius

The battle over radio royalty rates will likely continue into 2009, with the latest issue tackling how and when cable, satellite, and Internet stations should report their playlists to copyright holders in order to determine payment.
The Copyright Royalty Board, a government body that sets royalty rates, released a notice on Tuesday that suggests altering the reporting requirements for stations.
CRB wants any entity that pays royalties under sections 112 and 114 of the Copyright Act, including Internet radio, satellite radio, digital cable radio, and any other radio-like services delivered by digital means to report every single song they play on the air to SoundExchange, which governs the music industry's royalty rates. Under current rules established in 2004, they are only required to report their playlists for two weeks every quarter.
Pure Internet radio stations like Pandora will not really be affected by this type of "census reporting" because they already agreed last summer to report all activity electronically.
CRB also noted that satellite and cable could have difficulty actually calculating how many users are listening to a particular song, and might have to come up with an alternative means of payment.
"Where this change is likely to have the most impact is in connection with the operations of broadcasters who also stream their programs on the Internet," David Oxenford, a partner with Davis Wright Tremaine, wrote in a blog post. "Noncommercial broadcasters, such as college radio stations, have repeatedly complained that their small staffs to not have the ability to maintain these electronic records, especially where the stations are volunteer-programmed by DJs who select their own music on the spot."
Comments on this proposal are due to the CRB by January 29.
The board also questioned whether it was feasible for SoundExchange to set up a Web site for receiving playlist data to make it easier for smaller operations. SoundExchange has thus far resisted this idea for security and financial reasons. At this point, SoundExchange accepts data via FTP, e-mail attachments, CD-Rom delivery, or via floppy discs.
Though Internet radio already abides by census reporting, royalty payment status is still up in the air. Under a bill signed into law in October, Internet radio and copyright holders have until February 15 to come up with a royalty agreement or the decision will be handed back to the CRB.