CPB reaches new pact for webcasting royalties

The Corporation for Public Broadcasting will pay nearly $2.9 million in webcasting royalties to SoundExchange under an agreement approved yesterday by the CPB board. The payments will cover the royalties for the digital music streams of some 450 public radio stations from 2011-2015. The new agreement was negotiated under a deadline set by the Small Webcasters Settlement Act and alters the reporting requirements that pubcasting stations must meet under the current contract, according to Jeff Luchsinger, CPB director of radio system investment. Census reporting, which syncs audience data with music titles being webcast, will be required of only those stations with the largest web audiences. The agreement also sets a cap on additional fees that CPB would pay if pubcasting's online audiences grow faster than projected, Luchsinger said. SoundExchange is the royalty agent for recording labels and sound artists. Its current contract with CPB, announced in January, expires in 2010.