Agreement Proposed On Digital Royalties

There’s an apparent agreement on how digital royalties will be paid. The Digital Media Association has posted a press release outlining the agreement, which will be submitted to the Copyright Royalty Tribunal. Here are the high points, copied from the press release.

• The agreement proposes mechanical royalty rates that cover both limited downloads and interactive streaming, including when offered by subscription and ad-supported services. 
• The percentage rate structure in the agreement provides much-needed flexibility for new business models. 
• The agreement permits the use without payment of certain kinds of promotional streams, in the interest of encouraging paid uses of musical compositions.
• The agreement confirms that the mechanical licenses issued under its provisions will include all reproduction and distribution rights necessary to provide the licensed limited downloads or interactive streams.
• Outside the scope of the draft regulations, the parties confirmed that non-interactive, audio-only streaming services do not require reproduction or distribution licenses from copyright owners.