Internet Royalties Debated

OPENING PANDORA’S BOX: The House Judiciary Subcommittee on Intellectual Property, Competition and the Internet will hold a hearing tomorrow morning in Washington on the so-called Internet Radio Fairness Act, being supported by Pandora, among others, hoping to reduce its royalty payments for online streaming. The Recording Academy is sending Jimmy Jam to Capitol Hill to testify against the bill, which it claims “would dramatically cut the royalties that Internet radio services like Pandora pay to music creators, while doing nothing to close the loophole that allows AM/FM radio to pay nothing at all.” The hearing will be webcast at http://juciiary.house.gov at 8:30 a.m. (PT), while live updates can be followed on the Academy’s Twitter account at http://twitter.com/TRAinDC. A competing Internet Radio Bill, which raises rates paid by Sirius XM, cable and other digital mediums by switching them to a “willing buyer/ willing seller” standard, is currently in draft form and could still be introduced this year. Pandora has claimed that proposed act would “cripple its business model.” Several prominent songwriters, including Desmond Child, Linda Perry and Kara DioGuardi, plan to show up to express their opposition to the bill. (11/27a)