Radio Royalty Agreement In Works

The music industry is airing out a possible deal with radio broadcasters to settle a decades-old dispute over royalty payments for works played on AM and FM stations, says a spokesman for the musicFIRST Coalition, Marty Machowsky.

The tentative agreement now being circulated among recording studios and artists is considered "a tremendous breakthrough." The deal, which would need approval from Congress in performance-rights legislation pending in both the House and Senate, would require radio broadcasters to pay record labels and artists up to 1 percent of net revenues, with smaller stations paying less. The National Association of Broadcasters estimates that would cost broadcasters about $100 million a year -- much less than they would expect to pay under the pending legislation backed by the recording industry. Broadcasters would get a reduction on rates for Internet streaming services and a requirement that FM radio chips be included in all new mobile phones, among other things.