CNET: Music Business Seeking New Download Fees

New Fees Wanted

Songwriters, composers and music publishers want to collect performance fees from APPLE and other e-tailers for not just traditional music downloads but for downloads of films and TV shows as well, reports CNET, which writes "these groups even want compensation for iTUNES' 30-second song samples."

"We make 9.1 cents off a song sale and that means a whole lot of pennies have to add up before it becomes a bunch of money," said SONGWRITERS' GUILD OF AMERICA Pres. RICK CARNES. "Yesterday, I received a check for 2 cents. I'm not kidding. People think we're making a fortune off the Web, but it's a tiny amount. We need multiple revenue streams or this isn't going to work."

"In the U.S. while we do get paid a mechanical (licensing fee) from iTUNES, we are not getting any performance income from APPLE yet," UMG PUBLISHING Chairman/CEO DAVID RENZER told CNET. "(On iTUNES) you can stream radio, and you can preview (tracks), things that we should be getting paid performance income for. Also, if you download a film or TV show, there's no performance (payment) and typically there's no mechanical (payment) either."

The music industry has reportedly begun lobbying Congress to pass legislation that would require anyone selling a download to pay a performance fee, according to NATIONAL MUSIC PUBLISHERS ASSOCIATION Pres./CEO DAVID ISRAELITE. 

Read the full report here.

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