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"We're working very productively with MTV and AOL. I think we're going to have an agreement with both of these companies soon."
——RIAA CEO Hilary Rosen

RIAA LOOKS TO MTV, AOL FOR FUTURE STREAMING

Rosen Admits Deals Are In The Works, While Scraping Napster From Sole Of Shoe

Hilary Rosen continues to look toward the future of the record industry.

According to Reuters, the Recording Industry Association of America CEO hopes to reach an agreement to allow MTV and America Online to introduce Internet radio services shortly.

"We're working very productively with MTV and AOL," said Rosen at the Kagan Streaming Broadband Summit. "I think we're going to have an agreement with both of these companies soon."

Viacom's MTV and AOLTW's AOL declined comment.

In order to play music over Internet radio stations, webcasters are required to get a license from record companies. Yahoo is one of the highest profile companies to have done so.

There was cautious optimism that a deal could be reached. "Talks are still in relatively early stages," one source told Reuters. "But it is our hope that we can reach an agreement before the webcasters go to arbitration with the labels."

Webcasters are expected to go to arbitration in April to determine licensing terms for digital music performance.

Despite her outspoken attacks of Napster, Rosen tried to portray the Recording Industry as technology-friendly, as it struggles to come to grips with intellectual property issues in the Internet age.

"We're ready to work with webcasters. We're eager to work with you. We want to find common ground, because we all have the same goal and that is to use these opportunities to get more music out there," Rosen said. "And if we can't find a common ground, I have just one word to say to you: Napster."

The trade group formed a collective of 2,100 record labels called SoundExchange to distribute royalties for streamed music online, although some artists and webcasters have expressed concerns that the trade group will wield too much power.

Webcasters that provide more personalized programming services have to negotiate separately with each copyright holder, which is commonly believed to be a more arduous process than getting a license from SoundExchange.

Rosen emphasized that important issues are still being worked out. "There has been an adjustment period," she said. "This is not an attempt to deliberately hold on to an old marketplace. Rather, we want to ensure that the new marketplace is done right."

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