Lawmakers, Others Try To Push Royalty Bill Through

There is a concerted effort by leading federal lawmakers and record-industry and artists' groups lobbyists to ensure that when the Senate briefly reconvenes in November, a House-passed bill that would offer small Webcasters a lowered performance-royalty rate will pass the Senate and be signed into law.

Without passage, small Webcasters will have to pay retroactive royalties back to 1998 at the full royalty rate of 70 cents per song per 1,000 listeners, which they say would put them out of business. First payments were due Oct. 20.

In the meantime, the Recording Industry Assn. of America (RIAA) sent out e-mails Oct. 18 informing small Webcasters that record-label and other sound-recording copyright-owner members of the SoundExchange royalty-collection unit would accept instead "a minimum payment of $500 and waive any late fees."

The bill, H.R. 5469, was pulled from consideration in the last hours of the regular session Oct. 17 by Sen. Jesse Helms, R-N.C. Senate Judiciary Committee chairman Patrick Leahy, D-Vt., says he will lead an effort to resurrect it.

Leahy urged Webcasters, record companies, and artists' groups "to see if accommodation can be reached through marketplace negotiations. We will continue working for Senate passage of H.R. 5469 when the Senate reconvenes on Nov. 12."

In addition to lobbying efforts by the parties involved, other senators and House Judiciary Committee chairman Rep. F. James Sensenbrenner Jr., R.-Wis., have made calls to Helms "to let him know how important it is that this bill pass," according to an insider. Sensenbrenner was able to achieve unanimous passage of the bill on the House floor before it was sent to the Senate for consideration.

A spokesman for Helms says the senator "would like to get this off his plate" before he retires this year, but said he pulled the bill because it was a "back-room deal basically written by the recording industry."

The spokesman says Helms placed the hold after hearing complaints from home-state religious and non-religious broadcasters.

Senate leadership of both parties had cleared the bill for passage after an earlier hold placed by Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif. A source said Leahy "went ballistic" when hearing the bill was pulled from consideration.