WHY COLLEGE RADIO FEARS THE DMCA
Issue: Copyright
Internet radio broadcasts once represented the promise of free flow of
information over the Web. But if a 1998 federal law is fully enforced,
webcasting could be just a fond memory for college radio. Under the terms
of the 1998 Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA), radio stations must
pay thousands of dollars in annual fees to broadcast streaming audio over
the Web. Under long-standing U.S. copyright law, broadcasters pay a
coalition of songwriters' groups, but not record companies or performers,
to air music over the Internet and the airwaves.  Under the DMCA, Congress
allowed performers and record companies to start collecting fees on songs
sent over the Web. The fees, if implemented, would mean the end of
webcasting at KALX, the University of California at Berkeley's radio
station, says KALX general manager Sandra Wasson. KALX pays a total of
$623 per year to songwriters (as opposed to performers) to play music over
the Web. But if the recording industry's fee proposal goes through, KALX
would have to dish out $10,000 to $20,000 a year in webcasting fees,
Wasson said. [SOURCE: CNet, AUTHOR: Mark L. Shahinian]
( http://www.salon.com/tech/feature/2001/12/13/college_webcast/print.html )


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