MESSAGE
| DATE | 2008-05-03 |
| FROM | Ruben Safir
|
| SUBJECT | Subject: [NYLXS - HANGOUT] Digital Music still under assualt
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AOL, Yahoo, RealNetworks Suffer Setback In Music Licensing Fees
ASCAP estimates that the court's formula would lead to a total payment
of $100 million from the three companies.
By Antone Gonsalves, InformationWeek May 2, 2008 URL:
http://www.informationweek.com/story/showArticle.jhtml?articleID=207500372
A federal court has decided that AOL, Yahoo, and RealNetworks must pay
higher licensing fees for music broadcast over the Web.
The U.S. District Court in New York this week rejected the companies'
request to base the amount of money paid to songwriters and music
publishers on revenue directly attributable to music uses. Instead,
the court said members of the American Society of Composers, Authors,
and Publishers (ASCAP) are entitled to a rate based on a formula in
which gross Web site revenue is multiplied by the portion of Web site
activity that is music-intensive.
The Digital Media Association, the trade group representing the three
companies, said Friday it did not dispute that Internet companies should
pay fair royalties. "We are disappointed, however, that the court ruled
that online services' royalties should be based in part on service-wide
revenue, not simply on revenue directly attributable to music usage,"
Jonathan Potter, executive director of DiMA said in a statement.
DiMA said it is studying the court's 153-page decision, and the only
certainty is that the rate formula would require several weeks of
consideration, including possible court hearings, before its impact is
known. DiMA has posted the ruling on its Web site.
ASCAP said the decision covers license fees for periods starting July 1,
2002, and continuing through Dec. 31, 2009. The organization estimated
that the court's formula would lead to a total payment of $100 million
from the three companies. The case involves songwriters and music
publishers only. Record companies are not a party.
"The court's finding represents a major step toward proper valuation
of the music contributions of songwriters, composers, and publishers
to these types of online businesses -- many of which have built much
of their success on the foundation of the creative works of others,"
Marilyn Bergman, president and chairman of ASCAP, said in a statement.
Content providers are seeking a bigger share of the growing streaming
video and music market, which will generate $70 billion over the next
six years, according to Insight Research. That number, however, could
be much higher, if per-stream costs decrease faster than expected, or
consumers accept Internet TV sooner than predicted, or 3G delivery takes
off more quickly than forecast. -- http://www.mrbrklyn.com - Interesting
Stuff http://www.nylxs.com - Leadership Development in Free Software
So many immigrant groups have swept through our town that Brooklyn, like
Atlantis, reaches mythological proportions in the mind of the world -
RI Safir 1998
http://fairuse.nylxs.com DRM is THEFT - We are the STAKEHOLDERS -
RI Safir 2002
"Yeah - I write Free Software...so SUE ME"
"The tremendous problem we face is that we are becoming sharecroppers
to our own cultural heritage -- we need the ability to participate in
our own society."
"> I'm an engineer. I choose the best tool for the job, politics be
damned.< You must be a stupid engineer then, because politcs and
technology have been attached at the hip since the 1st dynasty in
Ancient Egypt. I guess you missed that one."
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