Copyright Issue: Dozens of FM Radio Stations Suspend Internet Audio Streams Indefinitely

Several FM radio stations recently suspended their realtime Internet broadcasts, citing artist and advertising copyright issues.

Yahoo! Radio, which hosted over 400 stations posted this message, as of April 26: “Due to the uncertainty over rights issues regarding the streaming of radio commercials over the Internet, we have been asked by some radio stations to temporarily suspend the transmission of content normally available through Yahoo! Radio. We look forward to a resolution of these issues so that we can continue to deliver the rich experience that the users of Yahoo! Radio have come to expect. We will resume streaming these stations as soon as these issues are resolved.”

WMGK-FM in Philadelphia, the Internet’s No. 1 classic rock station, according to www.internetradiolist.com, was also down. Program Director Dan Michaels offered this online explanation:

“Dear Internet Listener:

We’re very sorry that recent developments in the music business and the advertising business have forced our
hand regarding the discontinuation of our online simulcast. Radio stations all over the United States have
responded to these developments in similar fashion.

Here’s what has happened and how WMGK reached this conclusion.

WMGK has always fairly compensated the copyright holders of the music we play over the airwaves. The Digital
Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) passed by Congress in 1998 included provisions obligating radio stations to
make additional payments for music simulcast over the Internet. The exact payment structure (including
retroactivity) has yet to be established. This uncertainty and the risk it entails, circumstances beyond our
control, were factors in our decision to stop webcasting.

The DMCA also affects our advertisers, in that performers in broadcast commercials who belong to the
American Federation of Televsion & Radio Artists (AFTRA) are contractually entitled to additional payment
when their work is simulcast on the Internet. In order to legally avoid making these additional payments,
advertising agencies with whom we do business have requested that we omit their commercials from the Internet
simulcast of our signal, but we do not have the technical capability to do so. This factor, also beyond our
control, contributed to the decision to stop webcasting.

Sincerely,
Dan Michaels”