The two sides are far apart on the amount of the fees. The dispute goes to a copyright arbitration royalty panel at the Copyright Office on July 30. The RIAA is the same group that derailed Napster. Many other radio stations have since followed suit. Advertisers buy advertising time from broadcasters, and they are responsible for paying performers for usage of their product.
Media players proliferate The disputes are exploding at a time when Web radio is making headway.
Nearly everybody with a PC has a media player on it. Jupiter Media Metrix reports that 99 percent of computer users have one or more of the most popular media players, which include RealNetworks' RealPlayer, Windows Media Player, QuickTime, Spinner Plus, and RadioWave. Broadcasters, like progressive radio station KPIG-FM in Monterey, California, anticipated that popularity. KPIG-FM put its music on the Web several years ago to widen its reach beyond the geographic limitations of terrestrial radio broadcasting. We want to be there and be ready to capitalize when that happens.