canais na internet (EUA) podem acabar por causa da nova lei dos direitos?

Continuam as ondas de choque provocadas pelo anuncio de novas tabelas no pagamento de direitos de autor para os canais de streaming (basicamente: os aumentos podem chegar a mais de 100 por cento; antes o valor era calculado por uma lei de 2002, cada rádio na net pagava, por musica e por ouvinte, 0,07 centimos; lei essa que deixou de valer em 2005; a nova proposta fala em aumentos -retroactivos - de 00,7 para 0,08 centimos de dolar, crescendo até atingir os 0,19 centimos em 2010; mais a taxa fixa anual minima de 500 dolares; é citado o exemplo da AccuRadio, com mais de 300 estações, que gerou em 2006 receitas de 400 mil dolares; terá de com esta proposta de lei 600 mil dolares em direitos)

Há que os que resistem, para contrariar: «Faced with last week's Copyright Royalty Board decision, which threatens to shutter the huge majority of Internet radio operations in the U.S., webcast audiences are rushing to respond, signing online petitions and calling the attention of their elected officials to the Webcasters' struggle. There are already a number of destinations for Internet radio listeners to support Webcasters in their fight against this latest ruling. Below is a list of sites where Webcasters and audiences alike can discuss the ruling, contact members of Congress, and generally contribute to helping to keep Internet radio online» e há os que fazem contas: «Larger services that offer thousands of channels, such as the free Pandora, are also facing a huge spike in royalty costs. Kurt Hanson, publisher of RAIN and CEO of AccuRadio, went so far as to speculate that Pandora, which is based in the United States, could "disappear" as a result of the new rates. Overseas competitors like Last.fm, which is based in London and removed from the board's restrictions, could easily claim Pandora's market share» (fonte: Wired News, By Eliot Van Buskirk 08:00 AM Mar, 06, 2007)

Na Business Week: «The decision, due to take effect sometime during the next two months, could raise royalty fees paid by some online radio stations more than tenfold—enough to put many smaller stations out of business, Hanson says. Currently, most small Webcasters have paid royalties calculated as a percentage of revenue. Under the new rule, those outfits will begin paying on a per-song, per-listener basis. "The more intensively an individual service is used and consequently the more the rights being licensed are used, the more the service pays, and in direct proportion to the usage," according to the 115-page ruling.  Here's what the change will mean for AccuRadio. The station employs six full-time staff members and records about $500,000 in annual sales, mostly from advertising. Of that, Hanson pays record labels about $50,000 in royalty fees. The rule change, which will impose fees retroactively, will jack up royalty fees to more than $600,000 for 2006. Other Webcasters will be in the same boat. "I don't think any of the operators would break even," Hanson says. "Internet radio is in danger of becoming extinct," shouts a headline posted on the company's Web site, urging listeners to sign a petition or send a message to Congress. "The rates are so high that they exceed 100% of most Webcasters' total revenues!"»