Music Royalty Payment

[saint]

There seems to be some confusion regarding music royalty payment. Within the jurisdiction of the United States, you are obliged to make the appropriate royalty payment for music distribution regardless of the "signed" status of a musician.

 

Whether an artist has signed with a record label or not, the current requirements for royalty payment still apply.

 

There are two caveats to this however:

 

You can stream music that is licensed for public performance (Public Domain or applicable * Creative Commons Licence.) without payment of streaming royalty.

Due diligence is required for obtaining a verifiable copy of such licenses.

OR

 

You have been granted specific permission by that artist to stream their music without regard to payment of streaming royalties.

(It is highly recommended that you consult a lawyer for the creation of a release document granting this permission.)

 

* You must ensure that you abide by the class of Creative Commons license according to the structure of the streaming station. (I.E. For profit or Not for profit.)

[andhow]

Streaming from outside the US is the same. In the UK I think it is called a Limited Online Music License LOML.

 

In New Zealand, I pay two fees, to APRA|AMCOS & PPNZ and I am covered for all my performance royalties for broadcast as a non-profit station.

 

I am running as a non-profit hobby station, but I still pay my license fees. Anyone who doesn't pay their fee will eventually get caught and shutdown. If your hobby is that important, why risk it by not doing your legal duty and paying your fees?