Like presidential opponents, royalty bill foes rail against "burdensome regulation" and "cheating the middle class"

An article in yesterday's New York Times likens the conflict over Internet radio royalties to the presidential race: business suffering under government-inflicted costs vs. wealthy industrialists cheating the middle class.

What the different players are saying sure makes the comparison apt.

Pandora founder Tim Westergren told journalist Ben Sisario, "This adversarial reaction toward Internet radio is counterproductive. It’s causing other businesses to sit on the sidelines, and that is hurting musicians. Ultimately, you want to have many boats in the harbor."

But MusicFirst Coalition, the record industry group that's the main face in the fight against proposed royalty reform, "says it believes that if Pandora gets everything it wants, it could cut its royalty bill by up to 85%," writes Sisario.

The Internet Radio Fairness Act, co-sponsored in the House of Representatives by Republican Congressman Jason Chaffetz of Utah (more here), would require Copyright Judges who determine Internet radio's royalty rates to make their decisions using the "801(b)" standard of Copyright Law, instead of the controversial "willing buyer willing seller." Webcasters like Pandora support the bill, as all other forms of digital radio have their royalties set using 801(b). The music industry is firmly against the bill.

Westergren said, "No one has yet explained to us why Internet radio is under a different standard. No one responds to that fundamental premise."

Naturally, for RIAA CEO Cary Sherman, it's really a matter of companies like Pandora trying to cheat the "entire music community" out of "a fair return on the creative works that are the reason companies like Pandora exist."

Clear Channel CEO Bob Pittman is largely credited with making his company a major online radio force with its launch of the iHeartRadio platform. He says the record industry is wrong to focus on rates. With lower rates, more companies will stream more music, and lead to more income. "If the rate suppresses the volume, there’s less money. If it encourages volume, there’s more money."

Of everyone siding with Internet radio services, it was Rep. Chaffetz himself who stood out with a shot at the music industry establishment: "The old-school dinosaurs are trying to help, but they’re stuck in the tar. They can go talk to the pterodactyls."

Read the New York Times article here.