Lawmakers Clash On Internet Royalty Bill

While House Judiciary Committee members did not see eye to eye on whether existing royalty rules for Internet radio services like Pandora should be reformed, lawmakers on both sides of the aisle on Wednesday argued that broadcasters should start paying royalty fees for playing songs on over-the-air radio stations.

The focus of the Judiciary Committee's intellectual property subcommittee hearing on Wednesday centered on weighing the merits of a bill -- the Internet Radio Fairness Act (IRFA) -- sponsored by Reps. Jason Chaffetz (R-Utah), Jared Polis (D-Colo.), Darrell Issa (R-Calif.) and Zoe Lofgren (D-Calif.) that proposes to put Internet radio services on the same royalty-setting standard as cable and satellite radio. Pandora, a major backer of the bill, hopes this will lower the rates of its royalty payments so they're more level with the royalty fees paid by cable and satellite radio services.
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