By: Connor

Yes, they do – which may not seem like a shocking revelation to many. However, it’s apparently about 32 times as much according to data supplied by StreamSerf. But then, how do you get paid for digital plays? Checking out and signing up with SoundExchange is highly recommended, as it’s free and you can check their database to see if you’re owed royalties.

While FMC has not independently verified these figures, they do seem in keeping with our recent studies of the commercial broadcasting space. In April 2009, we released a major report called “Same Old Song,” which examined whether commercial radio playlists had changed at all as a result of the 2005-2007 payola investigations, after which the Federal Communications Commission and the nation’s four largest radio station group owners – Clear Channel, CBS Radio, Citadel and Entercom – signed voluntary agreements meant to curb payola and open the airwaves to more local and independent artists.

“Same Old Song” and its New York State-focused follow up indicated no measurable change in the amount of indie and local music on the terrestrial dial.

Although we truly believe that over-the-air broadcasting still has enormous potential, we also recognize the growing role internet radio is playing in exposing audiences to new and niche acts. That’s why we’ve advocated for royalty structures that take into account smaller webcasters — in other words, we don’t support “one size fits all” rates and processes that will not let small and noncommercial webcasters survive.

Read more at Future of Music Coalition

Technorati Tags: internet radio, music distribution, soundexchange, StreamSerf

 Print This Post

This entry was posted on Friday, October 23rd, 2009 at 12:14 pm and is filed under Music Business, Music Production, Music Promotion. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.