Does ASCAP Decision Put Online Music Broadcasters On the Hook For $100M?

« Uwe Boll Believes Billy Zane Ripped Him Off | Main | PiracyWatch: Arizona Ruling Seen as No Major Blow to RIAA Anti-piracy Fight »

Does ASCAP Decision Put Online Music Broadcasters On the Hook For $100M?

Thu May 01, 2008 @ 04:44PM PST

Posted by Eriq Gardner

Ascap_lit_20061207 ASCAP is crowing about a "historic decision" made in U.S. District Court in New York yesterday.

New York federal judge William Conner has established a loose formula that determines the royalties that online music broadcasters have to pay publishers. The decision will cover license fees all the way back to 2002 and continue to 2009, when new rates go into effect.

But the decision awards ASCAP about 2.5 percent of music-related revenue from that time, which potentially adds up to an astounding $100 million, or about $6 million to $8 million due from each of the major online broadcasters such as AOL, Yahoo, and RealNetworks.

The online broadcasters were quick to point out the formula is still loose and has not been ultimately decided yet. ""This is a long way from being over," RealNetworks general counsel Bob Kimball told Reuters.

TrackBack URL for this entry:
https://www.typepad.com/services/trackback/6a00d83451d69069e200e5521f35718834

Listed below are links to weblogs that reference Does ASCAP Decision Put Online Music Broadcasters On the Hook For $100M?:


The Hollywood Reporter
The Hollywood Reporter, Esq. blog focuses on how the entertainment and media industries are impacted and influenced by the law. It is edited by Matthew Belloni with contributions from veteran legal reporter Eriq Gardner and others. Before joining The Hollywood Reporter, Belloni was a lawyer at an entertainment litigation firm in Los Angeles. He writes a column for THR devoted to entertainment law. Gardner is a New York-based writer and legal journalist. Send tips or comments to [email protected]

The Hollywood Reporter
Contact: Patrice Atiee at 323.525.2014 or [email protected]


The Hollywood Reporter is Your Complete Film Resource

The columnists and bloggers who write for The Hollywood Reporter have their collective finger on the pulse of the boxoffice. Martin Grove and the other THR columnists deliver their thoughts on the film industry in an uncompromised style. Subscribe to THR today and get the latest views from these film experts and get the latest movie reviews as well.