Internet Radio Must Pay Up

NEW YORK (Top40 Charts) - After seven months of negotiations, a U.S. government panel put forth the recommendation last week that online radio broadcasters pay royalties to record companies to be split evenly with the artists when their songs are played over the net.

Online radio stations could end up paying 1/7th of a U.S. cent (approx. 0.14 cents) for every song that is broadcast to a user. Newspapers estimates the recommendation could earn labels and artists millions more annually. Regular radio stations have paid royalties for years but thus far no rules had been put in place online.