REMINDER:  WEBCASTER MINIMUM FEE PAYMENTS AND NOTICES OF ELECTION FOR 2012 DUE NO LATER THAN JANUARY 31, 2012
Commercial and noncommercial station licensees that stream sound recordings over the Internet are reminded that the annual minimum fee for 2012 is due to be paid to SoundExchange no later than January 31, 2012.  The minimum fee payment is $500 per channel or station, which includes both channels that are simultaneous transmissions of over-the air broadcasts and Internet-only channels.  The minimum fee for commercial broadcasters is capped at $50,000, even if the broadcaster operates more than 100 online channels or stations. The minimum fee is nonrefundable and credited against any additional royalty fees payable by the webcaster in 2012.  Each minimum fee payment must be accompanied by a service-specific Statement of Account form prepared by SoundExchange, copies of which are available here by clicking on the 2012 “Minimum Fee” link for the appropriate service type.  The same form is to be used by commercial broadcasters (other than “small broadcasters” as defined below) regardless of whether or not they elected to operate under the Webcaster Settlement Act rates and terms negotiated by the National Association of Broadcasters.  Failure to submit the annual minimum fee by the January 31 deadline could subject a webcaster to late payment penalties. In addition, certain classes of webcasters will need to file notices with SoundExchange by January 31, 2012 in order to continue to operate within their class or be exempt from particular filing requirements. “Small broadcasters” (defined to mean commercial broadcasters that streamed less than 27,777 aggregate tuning hours in the previous year, or about seven listeners for ten hours of streaming per day) must submit a Notice of Election form and include a $100 proxy fee per channel or station if they wish to be exempt from the requirement to file monthly Reports of Use. “Noncommercial educational webcasters” (generally student-run radio stations at accredited educational institutions) that streamed less than 55,000 aggregate tuning hours in any given month last year must submit a Notice of Election form and include a $100 proxy fee per channel or station to avoid the requirement to file Reports of Use. “Noncommercial webcasters” (but not noncommercial educational webcasters), including “microcasters” that streamed less than 44,000 aggregate tuning hours last year, that have previously elected to operate under the noncommercial webcaster rates and terms pursuant to the Webcasters Settlement Act must renew that election by filing a separate Notice of Election form. Each of the Notice of Election forms discussed above is available here by clicking on the 2012 “Notice of Election” link for the appropriate service type. The obligation to submit the annual minimum fee payment and notice of election are in addition to the on-going requirement to submit monthly Statements of Account and Reports of Use. Should you have any questions regarding your webcaster obligations or SoundExchange filings, or any aspect of streaming music on the internet, please contact any attorney in our office. January 23, 2012
This memorandum is intended only as a general discussion of these issues and should not be regarded as legal advice. We would be pleased to provide additional details or advice about specific situations if desired. Copyright © 2012, Lerman Senter PLLC 2000 K Street NW, Suite 600 | Washington, DC 20006-1809 tel. 202.429.8970 | fax 202.293.7783 | www.lermansenter.com To Unsubscribe: Unsubscribe  |   To Update Client Info: Update Client Info