BY DANIEL MCSWAIN
Broadcasters who stream online won't take the new webcast royalty rates lying down, says the NAB in their latest and most forceful statement on the issue which guarantees "unequivocal support" for the Internet Radio Equality Act.

According to a press release, the NAB extended an offer to SoundExchange on June 6 that sought to negotiate a settlement with the record industry group for the NAB's member stations, the terms of which have not been disclosed. According to the NAB, SoundExchange has not responded to that offer.

"We are disappointed by SoundExchange's continued reluctance to respond to the good-faith, reasonable offer put forth by NAB nearly two months ago," said NAB Executive Vice President Dennis Wharton. "NAB will now turn our attention to aggressively advocating in support of Rep. Inslee's legislation to ensure that local radio broadcasters who stream content online are treated fairly."

Since the introduction of the IREA, many webcasters and radio industry figures have openly urged the NAB to take a strong stance in support of the bill. Beginning with a statement on April 30 in which the group pledged to "work with Congress to craft a solution", the NAB has continued to ratchet up their language in public support for the legislation [previous RAIN coverage here].

Today's announcement is joined by a statement from NAB chief David Rehr in response to a question regarding performance royalty for broadcasters posed to President Bush during a recent appearance in Nashville [previous RAIN coverage here].

In a letter to President Bush, Rehr argued that the levying of a performance royalty on AM/FM radio would "upend the long-standing mutually beneficial business relationship that exists today between record labels, recording artists and broadcasters." He also urged the President to speak out against a performance royalty for broadcasters should the question be posed to him again in the future.

From a Live365 press release: "Live365 Inc. recently completed a study of its 2006 Internet radio broadcasts which revealed that nearly 56% of its broadcast  music comes from independent artists and labels and not major record labels. This statistic underscores how Internet radio helps promote new, emerging artists while also expanding musical diversity as the AM/FM radio industry consolidates station ownership and play formats.

"Mark Lam, CEO of Live365 pointed out: "Only 10-13% of AM/FM music is from independent artists and labels, so we spin four times as much indie music as AM/FM. Our 10,000 DJ's are opening up the diverse spectrum of musical genres and artists while AM/FM program formats narrow it. I see this statistic as a genuine reflection of what music DJ's will play when the choice is driven by what people like rather than profits."

"The Live365 study further showed that well over 70% of all the unique songs played were from independent artists and labels versus the four major music labels."

From The Age: "Gen Y is switching off the radio, telly and stereo and turning to the internet for, well, just about everything.

"Digital natives, they call them. Raised on the revolution of broadband, mobiles, MP3s and the user-generated content explosion, young audiences are fast tuning out of traditional media...

"[T]ime spent online by 14-25-year-old 'heavy internet users' doubled from 18% in 2002 to 36% in 2007.

"Head of digital marketing agency Hothouse Interactive Simon van Wyk says audiences are skipping the traditional habits of free-to-air TV, live radio and CDs in favour of content they can access any time, anywhere — courtesy of the internet...

"...[V]an Wyk... says the measurement industry isn't keeping pace with technophiles, especially when it comes to tracking new habits such as media multi-tasking. 'They're way behind. How many people sit at home with one eye on the television and another on the laptop? There's a lot of that going on, and no one is measuring it.'

"In May, the ABC reported 1.7 million podcast downloads, 42% of them for Radio National programs. ABC Radio National's talks program editor Joe Gelonesi says the current radio ratings system by Nielsen doesn't incorporate live and non-live streaming and podcasting, and it still uses manual diary entries to measure live radio.

"We don't know how much we're underestimating the audience by, because of these new ways of listening,' he says. 'I suspect it's by miles,'...

"And dwindling numbers certainly have the old guard sweating — none of the record labels contacted for this story was prepared to comment."

Read the entire article at The Age.

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