Inslee Readies Net Royalty Hike Rollback Bill

With CONGRESS back in session after the LABOR DAY break and a comprehensive agreement between Net broadcasters and SOUNDEXCHANGE, Rep. JAY INSLEE has told the KITSAP SUN newspapers that he will reintroduce legislation that would reverse the U.S. COPYRIGHT ROYALTY BOARD's royalty rate hike and cap royalty payments at 7.5% of each stations' revenues.

Some progress has been made in terms of royalty cap for major webcasters; smaller webcasters have been offered a temporary deal from SOUNDEXCHANGE that some believe is drawn to hit webcasters hard should they ever grow. "You can't put an economic choke hold on this emerging force of democracy," INSLEE said. "There has to be a business model that allows creative webcasters to thrive. The existing rule removes all the oxygen from this space."

Although this issue is dwarfed in comparison with war and budget concerns, not to mention FCC and NAB issues, "This won't get swept under the rug," INSLEE said. "If the stations aren't happy, I won't consider this resolved and I won't rest until it is."

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