O negócio das webradio ou dos serviços on demand (custos)

De acordo com o Digital Millenium Copyright Act, que define os royalties que os serviços musicais pagam aos artistas,as verbas em causa são mais pequenas se um serviço for considerado «web radio», em vez, por exemplo «on-demand»,o que faz com que muitos dos serviços streaming cumpram os critérios para serem considerados web radio.

Eis os varios tipos de serviços digitais previstos:

1. Unrestricted download (The basic and well-known delivery of an encoded, compressed copy of a sound recording,)  These are typically sold in pay-per-download stores that do not carry major-label music (such as EMusic or Audio Lunchbox). 

2. CD burn – this type of delivery enables the user to make a copy of a downloaded file to a recordable CD, enabling users to take the music anywhere (or even rip the music back off the CD into another portable format).  Rhapsody offers CD burning options as part of their service.  

3. Restricted download –; These downloads include DRM (Digital Rights Management) Technologies that place restrictions on copying the file. Apple iTunes, Napster, Real and most download stores with major label content put this DRM on their files.

4. Tethered download – A type of delivery similar to renting, with users having access to the file for a limited amount of time. The limits are enabled by various DRM technologies that track information such as where files are moved to and how many times they are used.  Services such as Napster and MusicNet offer this type of download. Microsoft is currently toying with this idea as well.

5. On-demand interactive streaming – streaming delivery of music over the network "on-demand," or when the user requests it. (...) the music begins playing immediately after the user clicks. On-demand streams are available from services such as Rhapsody, MusicMatch, and Napster.

6. Interactive radio – streaming delivery of music over the network like traditional radio, but allowing the user the ability to skip songs or rate tracks and artists to influence the experience. . Can be subscription or non-subscription offerings, and separate licenses that address the specific features and value provided by each product are required.

fonte: «3. Getting Paid For Your Music Online – Digital Music Rights»

On-Demand and Downloadable Music Services — By our count there are close to 150 music subscription and download services offering a wide range of digital delivery methods including on-demand streaming, CD burning, time and/or location limited (tethered) downloads, unrestricted downloads, and a variety of interactive radio options.

Interactive radio is generally a premium service that allows the listener to skip songs, rate songs to affect your playlist, build custom stations based on your artist preferences and otherwise influence the listening experience. MusicMatch, Yahoo! Launch, Rhapsody, and Napster all offer such services.

 

Non-interactive radio is most like the normal radio experience, just a constant stream of music that the user cannot influence, usually programmed to a specific style of your choosing. It may come with or without commercial advertising, often depending on a subscription. Most of the services mentioned above offer a non-interactive radio option, often for free, as do products such as Realplayer, Windows Media Player, Live365, and countless other independent and small webcasters. And, of course, many traditional radio stations broadcast across the Internet.