Say what?!

SoundExchange put out a press release from some musicians who "enthusiastically" support the new higher rates for web streaming.

According to SoundExchange, "The new rates better align the per stream compensation performing artists and record labels received from the digital play of their music with the fair market value of their work." Given the small audience for web radio casts, wouldn't it be fairer to "better align" artists' and labels' compensation rates by making rates for old-fashioned radio the same as digital rates? As NPR says, they will pay higher royalties to webcast than they do over the airwaves.

Again, this seems to be more of an attempt by the record labels to shut down media outlets that they can't control as easily as the payola-infected radio stations.

The "fair market value" claim is also highly suspicious. SoundExchange put together the data used by the Copyright Board to set the rates. They had a self-interest to skew the numbers their way,and the may have been comparing apples to watermelons with the online services they used to support their "fair market value claim."

In any event, the Board will rehear this matter.