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ivan@stellysee.de
| From | "Swim Taxi" <thegeniusiwas@hotmail.com> |
| Subject | Re: Shutting Down |
| Date | Mon, 23 Apr 2007 13:08:39 -0700 |
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I wrote to Senator Dianne Feinstein about Royalty Board decision. This was
the response I received.
Damian
-----------------------------------------------------------
Thank you for writing to me with your concerns about the Copyright Royalty
Board's recent decision on the statutory rate for music webcasting. I
understand your concerns and appreciate the opportunity to respond.
Under the Copyright Royalty and Distribution Reform Act of 2004,
Congress - at the behest of webcasters - created the Copyright Royalty Board
which consists of three judges. By law, the judges are a venue of last
resort and are required to periodically set rates for various statutory
copyright licenses in the event that webcasters and copyright owners are
unable to reach voluntary agreements. In the absence of an agreement, the
judges set a rate designed to approximate the fair-market value that
webcasters should pay to artists and performers for streaming their music
for the years 2006-2010. The new rate that was established is less than a 5
percent increase of the rate in effect from 1998-2005.
Although a few webcasters have recently claimed that the process
was unfair, it was not arbitrary and allowed representatives from all sides
to make their cases. The judges began the proceedings in 2005, and heard
testimony from dozens of witnesses and conducted a comprehensive review of
tens of thousands of pages of evidence submitted by all interested parties
over an 18-month period.
While some webcasters may choose to pay this rate, independent
negotiations between the parties are still possible and this new statutory
rate would serve as the ceiling. Additionally, if it appears that the new
rate will reduce the overall amount of webcasting - as well as the overall
income from this stream of revenue - the copyright owners may still have an
incentive to offer webcasters a rate less than the statutory rate.
I am a strong believer in intellectual property rights and believe
that artists and performers have earned the right to be fairly compensated
for the broadcast of their works by webcasters who benefit - financially and
otherwise - from their talents. Without fair compensation, these artists
would not create their works.
Once again, thank you for writing. Should legislation addressing
this new rate or the rate-setting process come before the Senate, I will be
sure to keep your concerns in mind. In the meantime, if you should have any
additional questions or comments, please do not hesitate to contact my
Washington, DC staff at (202) 224-3841.
Sincerely yours,
Dianne Feinstein
United States Senator
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