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The following is an excerpt from The Network Magazine's interview with RIAA president Hilary Rosen, from their Page6.net website. (The Network Magazine is the Clear Channel Entertainment-owned group of radio trade publications such as Album Network, Urban Network, and Network 40.)

The interview dealt with Rosen's reactions to issues facing the recording industry like file-sharing and artists' rights, as well as webcasting royalties.

NM: "There are already artist managers who believe that the rates their artists get from being 'played' on the labels' pay services, Pressplay and MusicNet, are little more than pennies on the dollar. If that's true, won't that discrepancy deteriorate your relationship with the artists even further?"

HR: "All of those issues are between the individual artists and labels, but the one thing that everybody should remember is that these services are just getting off the ground. The key thing is to first establish these businesses and grow them. However, for someone to take the attitude that there's no point in supporting a legitimate business model against piracy is shortsighted. Again, we're in the infant stages here."

NM: "Isn't that the same line of reasoning Internet and terrestrial radio stations use in claiming that they can't afford to exist if they have to pay the proposed copyright fee?"

HR: "There's a significant difference. The people who have spent money and invested the means to create the music are entitled to a return on their investment. The [copyright] issue affects people and parties who are building their own businesses using the music created and produced by others. It's very different if a record company or artists want to sell their own stuff -- or even give it away for a promotion if they want to -- but the whole point is someone else shouldn't be making that decision for them."

NM: "I take it the RIAA's pretty satisfied with the C.A.R.P. [Copyright Arbitration Royalty Panel] proposal."

HR: "Nobody's quite satisfied with the ruling. That's what arbitration does. We've tried to settle it with Webcasters for two years and have been unable to come up with a viable agreement. The fact that they're complaining now is not much comfort to anybody, because [the proposed rate] might have been different had there been more discussions. There have been settlements, but I am still confident that these businesses have the opportunity to make money to sell new services. Even if they can't see a revenue side for them this year or next year, at least it has set an important precedent for artists and record companies in the future."

NM: "So it wouldn't bother you if, as predicted, a great majority of terrestrial and Internet outlets do go out of the Webcasting business, depriving the labels of any revenue whatsoever?"

HR: "I find that to be an empty threat. Radio stations, in particular, would only be in business if they see money in it. There's no reason that artists and record companies should offer their product for this business unless they see money in it as well. Now should I feel guilty that they won't have the business they hoped for because we're not willing to give them product for free? No."

NM: "Several radio interests assert that a percentage-of-revenues solution would provide a better way for both parties to maximize profits."

HR: "Actually, that's not true. We offered several alternatives and private settlements with rates more dependent on growth and a percentage of revenues. They rejected all of those, then we went to arbitration."

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From Wired News: "Canadians may soon be smuggling blank CDs across the border in an effort to avoid the high taxes that have been proposed for any recordable media that can be used to store music.

"The tax, called the Private Copying Tariff and backed by the Copyright Board of Canada, is intended to compensate musicians for income lost when consumers copy music onto digital storage media.

"The proposed tax would be collected from the products' manufacturers, but industry groups said they believe the costs would be passed to consumers and would result in higher prices for all digital storage media and devices...

"If approved, the new tax would levy an additional fee of 59 cents (Canadian) on blank CDs. Memory cards, such as those used in handheld computers or digital cameras, would be taxed at 0.8 cents per megabyte of storage space. Manufacturers of blank DVD discs would pay an extra $2.27 per disk.

"Hardware manufacturers would also be affected. Makers of MP3 players would pay $21 in fees for each gigabyte of memory available on their devices, raising the cost of devices like Apple's iPod by more than $100.

"'Products are already painfully expensive in Canada due to the poor exchange rate on our dollar,' [corporate law attorney Joseph] McCormick said. 'Adding more fees on top of those prices will stifle business or turn people into criminals. Mark my words: They will start smuggling blank CDs across the border.'"

Read this article in Wired here.