The recording industry and a group representing digital media reached an agreement Tuesday regarding royalty rates for certain online music services, but the controversial issue of rates for Internet radio stations like Pandora has yet to be settled.
Under Tuesday's deal, sites offering interactive streaming and limited downloads will pay 10.5 percent of annual revenue as a “mechanical" royalty rate - or a fee that goes to songwriters, composers, and publishers.
Interactive streaming Web sites are music sites that let users select the songs to which they want to listen, like imeem.com. Limited download sites let users download a song and listen to it for a set amount of time, or as long as they continue to pay a monthly fee, like Rhapsody or Napster's subscription services.
The Digital Media Association (DiMA), the National Publishers' Association (NMPA), the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), the Nashville Songwriters Association International, and the Songwriters Guild of America (SGA) submitted the agreement to the Copyright Royalty Board (CRB) for final approval.
The debate goes back to 2001 when digital downloads were just emerging as a viable business plan. The RIAA hashed out a deal with the NMPA whereby the RIAA would pay $1 million as an advance until the two sides could reach a deal regarding mechanical royalty rates.
Under Tuesday's deal, sites offering interactive streaming and limited downloads will pay 10.5 percent of annual revenue as a “mechanical" royalty rate - or a fee that goes to songwriters, composers, and publishers.
Interactive streaming Web sites are music sites that let users select the songs to which they want to listen, like imeem.com. Limited download sites let users download a song and listen to it for a set amount of time, or as long as they continue to pay a monthly fee, like Rhapsody or Napster's subscription services.
The Digital Media Association (DiMA), the National Publishers' Association (NMPA), the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), the Nashville Songwriters Association International, and the Songwriters Guild of America (SGA) submitted the agreement to the Copyright Royalty Board (CRB) for final approval.
The debate goes back to 2001 when digital downloads were just emerging as a viable business plan. The RIAA hashed out a deal with the NMPA whereby the RIAA would pay $1 million as an advance until the two sides could reach a deal regarding mechanical royalty rates.
