SoundExchange Deadline This Friday

AM and FM broadcasters who stream their signals on the Internet are due once again this Friday to pay performance royalties for the music they stream. Many broadcasters are still unaware that their ASCAP, BMI and SESAC licenses do not provide them with all of the rights necessary to "perform" their music when streaming it to listeners over the Internet. ASCAP, BMI and SESAC licenses provide broadcasters with rights for the composition itself from the composers and publishers of the music. The recording companies and performers, however, are paid through royalty arrangements administered by SoundExchange.

Broadcasters submit monthly reports and must pay an annual fee. There is a special rate for "small" broadcasters, and all rates are set by the Copyright Royalty Board ("CRB"). The rate for 2014 is set at $0.0023 per performance. In other words, if any portion of a single transmission is received by 100 unique listeners, that transmission would accrue 23 cents in liability. Statements of account are submitted monthly even if no payment is owed for a particular month.

The annual minimum fee is due on January 31st, 2014, this Friday. That fee is $500 for each station or channel, subject to a $50,000 cap. Since the minimum fee is recoupable in services, further payments for streaming activity in 2014 are not made until this amount has been exhausted.

In addition to the royalty fee, small broadcasters submit a $100 reporting waiver fee (per station or channel) but are not required to submit reports of use. To be eligible for status as a small broadcaster, your streaming listeners should be below the threshold of 27,777 average tuning hours in 2013, with a reasonable expectation not to exceed that threshold in 2014. The important point here is: The small broadcaster election must be made prior to January 31st, 2014, or within 30 days after the initial streaming date of a new channel. Otherwise, the broadcaster defaults to a regular broadcaster.

Further information may be found on the SoundExchange website and in messages recently sent by SoundExchange to many broadcasters. SoundExchange provides the following links for additional information and forms, listed by each specific category of service:

Webcasting:

• Broadcasters: http://www.soundexchange.com/service-provider/commercial-webcaster/broadcaster/
• Small Broadcasters: http://www.soundexchange.com/service-provider/commercial-webcaster/small-broadcaster/
• Commercial Webcasters (CRB): http://www.soundexchange.com/service-provider/commercial-webcaster/commercial-webcaster-crb/
• Commercial Webcasters (WSA): http://www.soundexchange.com/service-provider/commercial-webcaster/commercial-webcaster-wsa/
• Small Webcasters: http://www.soundexchange.com/service-provider/commercial-webcaster/small-webcaster/
• Microcasters: http://www.soundexchange.com/service-provider/commercial-webcaster/microcaster/
• Pureplay Webcasters: http://www.soundexchange.com/service-provider/commercial-webcaster/pureplay-webcaster/
• Small Pureplay Webcasters: http://www.soundexchange.com/service-provider/commercial-webcaster/small-pureplay-webcaster/
• Noncommercial Webcasters (CRB): http://www.soundexchange.com/service-provider/non-commercial-webcaster/non-commercial-webcaster-crb/
• Noncommercial Webcasters (WSA): http://www.soundexchange.com/service-provider/non-commercial-webcaster/non-commercial-webcaster/
• Noncommercial Microcasters: http://www.soundexchange.com/service-provider/non-commercial-webcaster/non-commercial-microcaster-wsa/
• Noncommercial Educational Webcasters: http://www.soundexchange.com/service-provider/non-commercial-webcaster/non-commercial-educational-webcaster/

SoundExchange provides the following contact for further information, answers to questions and assistance for those that have an issue preventing timely submission of the 2014 minimum fee: LicenseeRelations@soundexchange.com Or (202) 559-0555

This column is provided for general information purposes only and should not be relied upon as legal advice pertaining to any specific factual situation. Legal decisions should be made only after proper consultation with a legal professional of your choosing.

This column is provided for general information purposes only and should not be relied upon as legal advice pertaining to any specific factual situation. Legal decisions should be made only after proper consultation with a legal professional of your choosing.