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Live broadcast from outside the US.
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This topic has been discussed in another thread and I just wanted to get an official answer in regards to royalties.
My question to SoundExchange
Hi,
I have a question about "Live" Internet Radio Broadcasts that stream copyrighted music. If they stream through a service like Live365, Loud City or any other US based streaming company, and the "Live" stream originates from outside the US, will they still be covered by the US streaming host's license with SoundExchange? Or will the station providing the "Live" stream need to have an equivalent SoundExchange license agreement with the proper authorities with the country in which the "Live" stream originates?
If you can answer this and possibly send me a link to the document that addresses this question, that would be wonderful.
Thanks for your time.
Reply from SoundExchange
SoundExchange administers statutory licensing for the public performances of digital transmissions that terminate within the United States. If the listener is in the U.S., then the performance is occurring (i.e. terminating) in the U.S., and that performance is therefore protected by U.S. copyright law (regardless of where the transmission originated). In essence, the location of the listener is the determination of which country regulates the copyright protection for the performance, not the location of the service creating the transmission (it is the performance itself that is under discussion here).
Services digitally transmitting public performances of sound recordings into or within the United States (regardless of the origin of those transmissions, or the nationality of the company creating them) must either obtain a direct license with the sound recording copyright owner, or be compliant with statutory licensing as described in Sections 112 and 114 of the Copyright Act (which involve paying and reporting to SoundExchange, as the Designated Agency/Collective).
Please refer to the Copyright Act (www.copyright.gov), or our own website, for more information; feel free to call me directly, as well.
Sincerely,
Travis Ploeger
Manager, Licensing and Enforcement
SoundExchange, Inc.
This answers the question in regards to SoundExchange, I still recommend checking local law in your country for any added license requirements. -
So, I pay money to Loudcaster because they have a license to stream my music. That stream is available EVERYWHERE in the world. BUT according Sound Exchange the license that LC has only applies if the listener is in the US. So basically it's quite possible the listeners in other countries are listening to an illegal stream.
Go figure!!!
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Reading the reply from Sound Exchange, there is no mention of LIVE broadcasting. In fact they specifically say regardless of where the transmission originated. I get from that, that it doesn't matter if you're live or not. The only thing that is important is where the listener is.
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@50s4ever, I would till check local laws in your country that regulate streaming. SoundExchange can only speak for the US, so that does not mean that other licensing isn't needed. Your live stream is governed by the country you live in.
My main concern was fellow broadcasters who could get in a huge mess over royalties. Some parts of streaming rules are way too vague. -
each radio pays royalties in the country of residence of the owner of the website from which you launched the streamings.
Loudcaster is the owner of the website from which you launched the streaming; loudcaster live in U.S. and the royalties are paid in the U.S., no matter which country you live, your streaming can be heard only on loudcaster (for this reason you can't insert a player directly to your website) and you paid the royalties in the U.S. -
Interesting all the comments and the fact that Sound exchange and APRA/ACMOS are as vague as each other .. I can get a "Hobby" Licence in oz for about $400 per year.. Not sure what I am going to do .. but will be on auto till i decide..
This issue should be explained on the loudcaster web site as I dont think it is -
Re:RadioTime and Shoutcast.
1. Both are (or better be) licensed with the proper A/B/S license. They do not broadcast the music, but offer a place for the broadcast to launch. The fact that they do not broadcast the music exempts them from royalties. Plus they have an agreement with Loudcaster to launch their streams.
2. The answer from SoundExchange only covers US law. This does not apply to the country where the live stream originates. This must be researched by the broadcaster. If you do not cover your ass, you could open yourself up to possible fines/law suits from the SoundExchange equivalent in your country.
The rumors are flying that SoundExchange is really actively looking for non-compliant stations. I personally have been contacted by them because they found my station on RadioTime. I am currently licensed with SoundExchange as a Small Webcaster for both stations and my royalty payments are made as a one time payment in accordance with the Small Webcaster Act. I acquired this for my stations for broadcasting at Live365, but technically, this could cover my stream at Loudcaster as long as my stations don't go over their monthly maximum listener hours. -
iTunes must have the proper licensing too since I asked Brandon if it was OK to have my station on their directory. At first there was a concern that I'd constantly be full and that 50 slots would not be enough, but he gave me permission to give them the 32K AAC+ slot. This helped me a lot and I usually get an average of 12 to 20. Keep in mind however I'm not nor do I wanna be a pop station. For this reason I have fewer listeners but that is OK.
Real Album Rock
http://thelegacyrocks.24ex.com -
I think Classic Rock , while not as popular as say Country or Pop, is a very popular genre. I have a few friends that do quite well with Classic Rock stations, one of which gets over 200K in Total Listener Hours for any 30 day period.
iTunes can be great, but it can have it's issues as well. One of my stations (PHR) is listed in the Top 40/Pop genre and there is a station listed right above mine with the same name that is a dead station. I think that hurts my stations success. While they have purged some of the other genres of dead stations, they don't seem to be in a big hurry to complete the task. Then, on the other hand, my 80's station has been doing quite well on iTunes getting just over 100 SL's on weekdays. With a record of 115 last Friday.
One thing I found out is iTunes is now only accepting stations 128k and above for mp3, and 64k and above for AAC stations. They wont take lower bitrate stations, but current lower bitrate stations are grandfathered in and will remain listed. -
Hmmm well I wonder why I'm lucky to hit 20 peak listeners a day on iTunes. I did put my station on the 32K AAC+ instead of 64K as like I said Brandon suggested I use the 32K AAC+ for them. Plus I really don't get that many mp3 listeners at all on the mp3 side of things. I do get tons of UK listeners and I notice they stay longer than my US ones do. The US listeners I do get are loyal ones meaning they seem to come back daily. I figured since I don't always play "hits" was the reason for lower listeners on the station.
During the Weekdays I do considerably better than Weekends and after 4PM the listeners drop off. Its weird how my station gets listeners however. -
I know exactly what you are talking about. My Hard Rock/Metal station, which plays some popular stuff, but mostly unknown and deep cuts, never really took off. I guess content is important. I really enjoy the music I played on Big Dawg Radio, so maybe all my taste is in my mouth.
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Two questions:
1- Are stations originating within the USA who use Loudcaster liable for some kind of fees from overseas?
2- Are we legal if a station's website, hosted in the USA, has a "Listen Now" button that redirects to the Loudcaster URL for the station to be heard? Understand no player is embedded in the stations website, it merely invokes the Loudcaster player.
If this is a dumb question it is because I am new to this and I want to do things right or not at all. I want to make sure royalties are paid and I want to make sure I fully understand the ground rules once the stations web site is stood up.
Thanks for your patience. -
OK lets see if I understand this correctly. Your station will be originating from the USA meaning you or your DJ's will be upstreaming from whatever DJ software you prefer. And you want to know do you have to pay an extra fee if an overseas listener tunes in? If this is what your asking the answer is no extra fees are paid by you to allow an overseas listener to tune in.
2. If you have the URL link to Loudcaster's player you will be legal. However embedding the actual player on your site or embedding a direct link to Loudcaster's server (bypassing their web player) is not allowed (illegal) fo Loudcaster is the one with the license and not you directly.
If this is not what your asking I'm sorry but I think this is what your asking.
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