It’s the old chicken or the egg story…without exposure how do artists get their music heard? Without music to play radio is left with nothing but talk shows. The slippery slope is royalties. Who pays what? This battle for “reasonable” royalties paid by radio stations has been tossed around on both sides long before I started in radio 40 years ago. A.S.C.A.P., B.M.I. and S.E.S.A.C. are representatives for song writers and publishers. Sound Exchange represent the artists. All handle the collection and distribution of royalties but Sound Exchange is who college station deal with, for the most part, if they are Internet only stations. The policies and royalties collected, from Sound Exchange have been under the microscope for some time now, with solid arguments on both sides, (see article for details) but as a result of recent conversations between College Broadcasters Inc. and Sound Exchange the light at the end of the tunnel may not be a freight train but daylight. Read More
