Air 1 and the Copyright Royalty Board

A Church article with View Comments posted 11 May 2007.
Tags: copyright, radio

I wrote earlier on the injustice of the Copyright Royalty Board’s recent retroactive ruling regarding internet radio. I just heard back yesterday from Kenneth Turner at EMF Broadcasting, the corporation behind Air 1 and K-LOVE. Here’s what he had to say:

I appreciate your concern. At this time, it’s too early to tell what, if
any, impact this would have on Air 1. That said, we are working
diligently with the various parties involved and hope to come to an
reasonable solution.

If this ruling goes through in its current state, it is entirely
possible that many webcasters would have to shut down due to the high
costs involved. We hope it doesn’t come to that and would appreciate
your prayers for a favorable outcome so that Air 1 can keep on
streaming.

Most people’s concern about the Copyright Royalty Board ruling is for small internet radio stations, not a corporate giant like EMF. Nevertheless, it sounds like even large terrestrial broadcasters like EMF might be forced to shut down their internet radio feeds unless something is done soon.