RUMOR MILL
Thursday, April 20, 2000
LOBBYISTS FIGHT OVER BLANKET
Digital Media Association Petitions Government
For Netcasting License
For Netcasting License
A group of Internet companies have filed a petition with the U.S. Copyright Office requesting a blanket compulsory license for music Webcasts.
The unnamed firms filed collectively through DC-based trade organ the Digital Media Association (DiMA), but DiMA's site lists Spinner.com, Live365.com and other Netcasters among its members.
In any event, the petition asks that the government grant a compulsory license, which would allow Netcasters to pay a single royalty (like the one paid by radio stations) for all music played. The catch, of course, is that there is an interactive component to most digitally transmitted music.
That's where the RIAA draws the line, at least for now.
DiMA's Jonathan Potter contended that consumer participation in Webcasts—such as the ability to skip songs—doesn't qualify as interactivity and is, in any event, too limited to justify individual licensing.
The unnamed firms filed collectively through DC-based trade organ the Digital Media Association (DiMA), but DiMA's site lists Spinner.com, Live365.com and other Netcasters among its members.
In any event, the petition asks that the government grant a compulsory license, which would allow Netcasters to pay a single royalty (like the one paid by radio stations) for all music played. The catch, of course, is that there is an interactive component to most digitally transmitted music.
That's where the RIAA draws the line, at least for now.
DiMA's Jonathan Potter contended that consumer participation in Webcasts—such as the ability to skip songs—doesn't qualify as interactivity and is, in any event, too limited to justify individual licensing.
