Tag Archives: Copyright Royalties

Webcaster Wake Up Call: The (Not Entirely) Shutdown Update

This is the promised follow up to our December 14, 2018 post regarding the compliance obligations for 2019 under the statutory licenses found in Sections 112 and 114 of the Copyright Act (the “statutory licenses”) allowing webcasters to make public performances sound recordings via digital audio transmission and to make related temporary copies of those … Continue Reading

Webcaster Wake Up Call!

We usually publish our “Webcaster Wake Up Call!” post each January.  This post reminds webcasting services of their compliance obligations for the upcoming year under the statutory licenses found in Sections 112 and 114 of the Copyright Act (the “statutory licenses”) allowing them to publicly perform sound recordings via digital audio transmission.  Part of the … Continue Reading

Pre-1972 Fight with a Twist: Georgia Supreme Court Exempts Internet Streaming from State Record Piracy Statute

(Court also compares Internet Radio to Terrestrial Under State Law) A Georgia Supreme Court decision on a narrow issue relating to the use of pre-1972 sound recordings creates an interesting new topic for discussion in this area, even as the holding in this case is itself necessarily limited to Georgia. The case is iHeartMedia v.Sheridan, … Continue Reading

Webcaster Wake Up Call!

SoundExchange reports, payments due soon On February 2nd the groundhog best known as “Punxsutawney Phil” will be plucked from the comfort of his underground lair and ceremoniously asked to “predict” the end of winter.  Of course, this tradition was memorably portrayed in the 1993 movie “Groundhog Day” in which Bill Murray’s Phil Connors relives a … Continue Reading

Merry Christmas to the Licensee Community from New York! Appeals Court Holds No New York Performance Right in Sound Recordings

In what comes as an early Christmas gift for those who play “oldies” music – think Sirius XM Radio, radio broadcasters, and webcasters – and coal in the stockings of the owners of those recordings, New York’s highest state court ruled today that New York does not recognize a public performance right in sound recordings. … Continue Reading

FHH Webinar Recording Available: What You Need to Know About Global Music Rights and the RMLC’s Lawsuit Against It

Many readers will recall our posts about the webinar discussing the Radio Music Licensing Committee’s lawsuit against Global Music Rights that was scheduled for this week. As we have explained to readers in our earlier blog posts, GMR was founded to extract higher license fees for its copyright owner members than those obtained by ASCAP or BMI … Continue Reading

Noncommercial Broadcasters Receive Welcome Reporting News

Copyright Royalty Judges Reinstate Reporting Relief for Most Noncommercial Broadcasters You may recall that in August 2016, we reported that the Copyright Royalty Judges had proposed to modify the rules governing how noncommercial broadcasters are supposed to report the sound recordings that they stream to SoundExchange. That proposal was published at the urging of the … Continue Reading

Reminder to Sign-Up for FHH Webinar: What You Need to Know About Global Music Rights and the RMLC’s Lawsuit Against It

Many broadcasters are telling FHH they’ve been contacted by the Radio Music License Committee about a lawsuit the RMLC has filed against a new performing rights organization. Called Global Music Rights, it was founded in 2013 with the goal of extracting higher music license fees than those offered through other PROs like ASCAP and BMI. … Continue Reading

GMR Strikes Back

We previously informed you about the Radio Music License Committee’s (RMLC) antitrust lawsuit filed against the “fourth” performing rights organization (“PRO”), Global Music Rights (“GMR”) for engaging in anticompetitive conduct designed to drive up music licensing prices.  Now, GMR has filed an antitrust lawsuit of its own in a different federal court against the RMLC. … Continue Reading

FHH Webinar: What You Need to Know About Global Music Rights and the RMLC’s Lawsuit Against It

Many broadcasters are telling FHH they’ve been contacted by the Radio Music License Committee about a lawsuit the RMLC has filed against a new performing rights organization. Called Global Music Rights, it was founded in 2013 with the goal of extracting higher music license fees than those offered through other PROs like ASCAP and BMI. … Continue Reading

Update: Deadline for Appeals of CRB’s Webcasting IV Decision Set

Back in December I reported on the Final Rule and Order adopted by the Copyright Royalty Board in its Webcasting IV proceeding (official name: “Determination of Royalty Rates and Terms for Ephemeral Recording and Webcasting Digital Performance of Sound Recordings”. And now, a mere four or five months after the CRB first announced its decision (which … Continue Reading

Webcaster Wake-Up Call! SoundExchange Reports and Payments Due Soon

Same as it ever was: as they start in on the next five-year period with new rates and terms announced in Webcasting IV, webcasters must again attend to annual SoundExchange homework. It’s been a month since I wrote about Webcasting IV, the decision of the Copyright Royalty Board that set webcasting rates and terms for … Continue Reading
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