[DaveyB]

I never heard of the alternative rock band Cracker. I'm guessing that 150 million is approximately a million dollars every time a song of theirs was played.

I thought ASCAP and BMI paid the royalties, but what do I know, I never even heard of the alternative rock band Cracker.

[American Faith Today]

I hadn’t heard of them either.

At first I thought maybe the guy who used to hang around with Kid Rock had lost his uncle. =P

[smalltownslick]

“I thought ASCAP and BMI paid the royalties,”

They do (as well as SESAC, who are brutal)- they pay the songwriters only. When the Digital Copyright Act came to be, they pay ARTISTS, MUSICIANS, PRODUCERS AND LABELS. That’s through Sound Exchange. This is good for artists, but dreadful for internet radio. This does NOT apply to terrestrial radio and never has.

Spotify and some of those other services shouldn’t be too affected by it, as they make money from their services. But it’s the hobbyists who are hurt, those who have internet stations featuring music no terrestrial station would ever play, giving exposure to lots of niche artists, who have been slapped with fees based on the number of listeners a station has (since they can’t base it on profits like regular radio). It seemed from the beginning like an effort to cripple internet radio, and it’s having that effect. Live365 has just cut way back, and my guess is they will probably hang it up.

At the very least, they should apply this to terrestrial radio, and just for fun, retroactively. See how quickly support dies.