Online radio stations have to pay per subscriber. I was under the impression that actual radio stations didn't have to, for their online stream.
If you're talking about music royalties, everyone pays. But online streams owned by broadcasters get a slightly lower rate, which is why Pandora bought a radio station in South Dakota. It also explains why IHeart negotiated directly with certain labels, and is paying them a portion of on-air revenues for a discount on their online royalties.
My question is why would an on-air station primarily operate as an online stream, when the costs are higher, and the revenues are lower.
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