Bill Would Change Fees for Internet Radio Stations

Lawmakers in both the House and the Senate offered legislation that supporters say would level the playing field for Internet radio stations by allowing them to use the same standard for determining the rates they must pay performers for playing their music as other digital music providers. The legislation offered in the House by Reps. Jason Chaffetz, R-Utah, and Jared Polis, D-Colo., and in the Senate by Ron Wyden, D-Ore., would require that the Copyright Royalty Board use the same standard for setting rates for paying performers as it does for satellite and radio, which pay a much lower rate.