Online Radio Royalty Deal Reached

The New York Times reports that Music Labels Reach Royalty Deal With Online Stations:

Webcasters with significant advertising revenue, like Pandora or Slacker, will pay the greater of 25 percent of revenue or a fee each time a listener hears a song, starting at .08 cent for songs streamed in 2006 and increasing to .14 cent in 2015. Pandora had $19 million in revenue last year and expects that to rise to $40 million this year.

Small sites with less than $1.25 million in revenue, like AccuRadio, Digitally Imported and RadioIO, will pay 12 to 14 percent of it in royalties. All stations will be required to pay an annual minimum fee of $25,000, which they can apply to their royalty payments.

The rates are still higher than what terrestrial radio stations pay. But it looks like internet radio will survive a little longer. Who knows how long? So enjoy it while you can...

Previously: Internet Radio Is Doomed (2008).

Via Idolator.