Internet radio booming but threatened

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With a growing audience of up to 54 million monthly listeners, Internet radio is one of the biggest trends in digital music. But if you believe the industry's leaders, it's threatened with extinction. They say the rates they have to pay the recording industry are bankrupting them. They're appealing the government-set rates, pressing Congress to change the rate structure and pursuing negotiations with the industry. A recording industry representative acknowledged that the new rate structure put in place last year is burdensome to some Webcasters. But Michael Huppe, general counsel of Washington, DC-based SoundExchange, which collects royalties from Internet radio firms on behalf of the recording industry, suggested that the problem is the business models of some of the Internet radio firms.


Internet radio booming but threatened