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Are Part 15 stations exempt of royaltys

  • Thread starter Mid West Clubber
  • Start date
PAYOLA is a very important component of radio revenue. I'm not going to go too far indepth but it is legal as long as their is a third party involved, call it the middle man.

The charts, the playlists etc. It's all been paid for. Someone with little knowledge of the radio industry will probably write back to me and attempt to debate this but there is nothing to debate. This is the way it is & has been, for years.

josh
 
josh said:
I'm not going to go too far indepth but it is legal as long as their is a third party involved, call it the middle man.
Click to expand...

It was always my understanding that payola being illegal meant that it was not announced to the listeners that payment had been received for putting something on the air for the benefit of the person making the payment.

Have the rules changed?

Has the English language changed?
 
Cowboy,
It MUST be "announced as sponsored." THEN it' slegal.

As you said, illegal meant that it was not announced to the listeners that payment had been received.
 
I worked in some larger markets where you MUST sign a piece of paper stating you do not receive payola.
 
I look at it this way.

if you are a hobbyist playing DJ from your backyard with a legal part 15 AM, FM then no royalties are not due. it can be argued it's fair use. if you have multiples tx sites linked together or are a college, school or some sort of commercial environment then you are going to loose.

i would consult a communications or copyright attorney.

i can't imagine them pushing it to a court of law for a backyard part 15 broadcaster. they would have no chance of recouping their money.

they want a target they know for sure that they are going to win against and be able to squeeze that judgment out of.

they will try and intimidate you sure, but that is all they can do.

let me tell you the federal courts are getting tired of these guys clogging up the court system with this crap. it is starting to show in their rulings against file sharers. they reduced a $2M judgment to $50k.

if they start bringing yardcasters to court it is going to do nothing but alienate them more.

and if it comes out that it was some parent letting his kid play radio with a legal part 15 transmitter then not only will the judges be pissed at the plaintiffs it will be another PR nightmare for the record industry.

remember when the RIAA sued a corpse!!!!
 
Dr. Johnny.... Do tell, please.
The story sounds somewhat familiar. Can you remind us all a bit.

Thanks,
DJ Alan
 
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