How will internet radio royalty rate changes affect Yahoo! radio?!
Question:
How will internet radio royalty rate changes affect Yahoo! radio?
savenetradio.org
I am curious how, if at all, the CRB hike in royalty rates will affect large internet radio sources like Yahoo? I've been enjoying Yahoo radio almost since it's inception, and would be extremely disappointed to see any changes occur.
Answers:
Yahoo has stated that they are not going to operate Yahoo Music and Launchcast in particular at a loss. Yes, corporate Yahoo could afford it, but why should they subsidize a money losing operation? Public stockholders don't like that.
If nothing changes, I think the major Internet broadcasters will cut deals with the major labels directly to reestablish a reasonable cost structure. This will likely substantially cut into the diversity of the services and give the labels way too much say over the content. The smaller operators will simply cease operations. You might want to start looking for non-US music sources.