Wrestling with Streaming Rights & Rules

I'll take a break from my role as wannabe political pundit and actually post something remotely related to what this blog is actually supposed to be about. . .

Ever since the advent of online streaming, broadcasters—radio and telvision—have wrestled with how to handle content rights and licensing issues. Music rights have been a particularly thorny gray area.

Well, the AP ran a story yesterday with the following lede-line:

"A wide array of broadcasters and online companies on Monday challenged a ruling from a panel of copyright judges that they say could cripple the emerging business of offering music broadcasts over the Internet."

The gist of the article is this: A recent court ruling stipulated that companies like Clear Channel Communications, Inc. whose many radio stations offer their programming content online must "track how many songs were listened to by exactly how many individuals online," then pay special digital royalties to record lables and performers.

This, the broadcasters say, is overly burdensome and it vexes them sorely. They have appealed the ruling. Watch this space.