I have a client who has the software and scripts

and wants to set up a site that broadcasts news and updates over a internet ip radio chanell

she will also from time to time put some music over it

now does anyone have any ideas on the legal issues with this ?

im kinda leary about taking this one up

as im not sure and not sure if i really want to put the time into investigating or hiring a lawyer to see how and what can be broadcasted

i did check out theprogram and it has a upload stream at 2.4kbs
and is one one stream so it would not be a multiple connection script and that part looks pretty interesting to me

Thanks all

Just like any other media, copyrights still exist and require that you have the author's permission to play any of their material. So in a sense if you play a song like, "Emotion" by the Beegees, you could technically be charged for copyright laws.

there is two way to handle this.

illegal way : hosting companies have the legal right to be blind, so what you don't know won't hurt you. now you will have to see when and if you get severed or notified.

legal way :

there are 3 companies that handle the performance right ( broadcasting rights), she has to get all 3 of them. then she is legal to broadcast music audio not video.
gross cost is about 2000.00 for all three

then there is video right's. that I don't know anything about on the internet side but this.

the record lable sony charge one of my private clients 250,000 for the year to broadcast music video's on there site.


Mike

If she's going to do any broadcasting of any kind over the 'net using materials that were not completely created by her or that she otherwise does not *own* the copyright to, you'd better hire an IP (intellectual property) lawyer.

There is one rule you should keep in mind:

Anything that your client does not own the rights to -- and that usually means material that she herself has wholly created or outright bought -- is subject to licensing fees for broadcast. The agencies and companies that she needs to contact for clearance will depend on exactly what material she intends to broadcast.

That said, the waters your client is delving into really require the advice and guidance of someone who is fluent and up-to-date on all the legal issues. There is no simple quick-fix solution unless her needs are very limited (as well as her sources of material).

While it may cost you more money than you had expected for a lawyer's services, doing so will cover your client in case anyone tries to sue her for infringement (which can be up to $150,000 per incident). That can add up.

copyright

The same rules apply to internet broadcast as apply to restaurants, bars and clubs providing music and video for their partrons enjoyment. The first place to go is ASCAP and BMI, these are the 2 major artists unions that monitor, control and collect royality payment for member artists. She will pay a flat fee yearly to each union and in turn have the ability to rebroadcast their members works in whatever fashion she chooses and whatever frequency she chooses.

This is the way it was when I was in the club business and I am not aware of any major changes that singles out webcasts.

When in doubt, don't. And in this situation the potential for trouble so far outweighs any benefit you can gain from a single customer. If she were wiling to spend millions then maybe you could afford the legal advice to protect yourself-although it didn't seem to help Napster. We have enough problems without adding to our headaches with issues such as this.

I believe as far as paying a flat fee goes, the rules are different for radio broadcast. The chief difference being that in a club or bar or restaurant, the music is more or less incidental. Background entertainment, if you will.

But in a broadcast, where the music is being used as a substantial part of the content (and that would include bumper music for talk shows, or lead-in music as it's sometimes called), you might be looking at having to negotiate a deal for each piece or having to report to BMI or ASCAP the details of which songs got played when and paying a per-song royalty.

I'm not sure what the current rules are regarding internet broadcasts. But man. It can get a little complicated.