Big Machine, Taylor Swift’s Record Label Continues Its Online-Offline Royalties Experiment

Three months after Big Machine, the record company behind Taylor Swift, signed a historic deal with Clear Channel Communications establishing, for the first time, a royalty for labels and recording artists when their songs are played on the radio, the company has signed a similar deal with another broadcaster, Entercom Communications, which operates more than 100 stations in 23 markets in the United States. The label gave few details about the agreement, but as with the Clear Channel deal it will involve Entercom’s paying the label a royalty derived from its advertising revenues when it plays Big Machine acts on the air; in exchange, Big Machine will be paid a lower royalty for online streams than the fees that govern most Internet and satellite radio, which are set by federal statute.