Thanks for attending the RAIN Summit! We're just now rolling back into our offices after a busy but energizing RAIN Summit in Las Vegas yesterday. Thanks to all of the panelists, speakers, friends and guests that helped make this year's RAIN Summit such a great success. We'll have coverage and photos from the highly-attended event in the upcoming days.

From an AP story in MarketWatch: "Internet radio broadcasters were dealt a setback Monday when a panel of copyright judges threw out requests to reconsider a ruling that raised the royalties they must pay to record companies and artists.

"A broad group of public and private broadcasters, including radio stations, small startup companies, National Public Radio and major online sites like Yahoo Inc. and Time Warner Inc.'s AOL, had objected to the new royalties set March 2, saying they would force a drastic cutback in services that are now enjoyed by some 50 million people.

Live365 CEO: New royalties
mean "there is no industry"
"In the latest ruling, the Copyright Royalty Board judges denied all motions for rehearing and also declined to postpone a May 15 deadline by which the new royalties will have to be collected.

"However, they did grant leniency on one point, allowing the broadcasters to calculate fees by average listening hours, as they had been, as opposed to the new system of charging a royalty each time every song is heard by an online listener. That exemption counts for last year and this year. After that, the new per-song, per-listener fee structure goes into effect.

"Many Webcasters say the sharply higher royalty fees will put them out of business. Talk of the ruling dominated a one-day meeting of Internet radio broadcasters being held in Las Vegas [Pictured left: Kurt Hanson speaks at the RAIN Summit in Las Vegas] alongside the annual conference of the National Association of Broadcasters, a group representing local radio and TV stations.

"N. Mark Lam, chief executive of Live365 Inc., a privately held company that aggregates audio streams from thousands of radio stations and other small webcasters, said that under the new royalty rules, 'there is no industry,'...

Experts say legislative solution
more likely than help from Court
"Also on Monday, several Internet radio broadcasters announced a campaign to raise awareness of the issue and encourage listeners to write to their representatives in Congress [SaveNetRadio.org, see yesterday's RAIN coverage here]...

"David Oxenford [right], a lawyer representing several Webcasters, said the next step was likely an appeal to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, but he noted that process could take at least a year. Meanwhile, he said, the prospects of successfully getting a court to block the decision of the royalty board judges is slim...

"Jonathan Potter [left], the head of the Digital Media Association, which represents several large Webcasters including Yahoo, AOL and Microsoft Corp.'s MSN network, said his group was not currently in talks with SoundExchange but may be soon. He said his group and other Webcasters would be turning to Congress, where he said he sees 'a lot of legislative support.'"

Read the entire article at MarketWatch.