Internet Radio Stations Might Be Moving To Canada

Due to a newly-established royalty scheme that increases the fees that webcasters have to pay to stream music online, US-based Internet radio stations are considering moving North to relocate their operations there. Aside from having no new royalties to pay, they can also benefit from more open broadcast regulations since webcasters are exempt from the 1999 CRTC New Media Decision. This means that they don’t need to meet Canadian content requirements, unlike regular radio stations.

It’s not all smooth sailing though.

The copyright concerns associated with webcasting are far more challenging. While there are options that allow non-commercial webcasters to stream music without paying significant royalties – Soundclick lists more than 350,000 songs that are freely available under Creative Commons licenses – streaming commercial music will require royalty and license payments.

The net effect of these tariffs and licenses is that webcasting in Canada can get expensive, particularly for non-commercial and niche webcasters. By wisely focusing on a percentage of revenue model rather than the U.S. per-stream approach, the Canadian framework may enable webcasters to get off the ground, yet a streamlined system for streaming will be needed before Canada develops into a genuine Internet radio haven.

We’ll see how this develops. You may want to consider getting portable music players with Internet radio capabilities.

Source: Michael Geist

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