Supporters say Internet Radio Fairness Act would drive innovation and increase revenue for performers

Two radio industry groups have issued statements of support for the just-introduced Internet Radio Fairness Act (here).

Both thanked Reps. Chaffetz and Polis and Sens. Wyden and Moran for the introduction of the bill, and decried the unfairness that Internet radio alone is subjected to rates determined not by the 801(b) standard of the Copyright Act, but by the imagined marketplace of the "willing buyer willing seller" standard.

"In 1998, Congress passed the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA), instructing the Copyright Royalty Board (CRB) to set (an Internet royalty) rate 'that a willing buyer and a willing seller would agree to,'" explained Kurt Hanson, founder and CEO of webcaster AccuRadio (and publisher of this newsletter), speaking on behalf of the Small Webcaster Alliance (which includes services like Digitally Imported, 977 Music, and Radio Paradise). "The difficult-to-interpret language of that standard has been a nightmare for our industry ever since, leading to CRB decisions that have forced Internet radio companies to pay unreasonably high royalty rates and hindering innovation and growth."

The National Association of Broadcasters joined in support of the bills. "NAB... strongly supports legislative efforts to establish fair webcast streaming rates. NAB will work with the bill's sponsors and all interested parties to create broadcast radio streaming rates that promote new distribution platforms and new revenue streams that foster the future growth of music."

We expect to soon have reaction from other supporters, as well as opposition statements from music industry representatives like the RIAA, SoundExchange, and performers organizations, as well as Congressional opponents to these bills.