WXYC Escapes Shutdown After Copyright Ruling

The Library of Congress rejected a recommendation from the Copyright Arbitration and Royalty Panel on May 21 that could have caused WXYC, UNC's student-run radio station, to stop broadcasting online.

The panel has until June 20 to make further recommendations to the Library of Congress, which is responsible for all cases involving copyright laws.

In February, the panel recommended legislation requiring royalty fees, reports on items to be broadcast and restrictions on what can be broadcast over the Internet.

Had the legislation passed, stations simulcasting online would have been required to do extensive reporting on the music they broadcast over the Internet.

The song title, artist, album title, record label, copyright number and other items, would have had to be displayed on the Internet broadcast.

All the required information would be difficult to obtain because much of WXYC's music collection contains old records and because the station's staff, composed of student volunteers, is not extensive enough to collect all the information, said Jason Perlmutter, WXYC station manager.

"The tracking that was required was not really feasible for a station like ours," he said.

The recommendations also included royalty fees of 2 cents multiplied by the number of songs broadcast and the number of listeners.

The royalty fees would be retroactive to 1998.

The cost would be too great for the station because WXYC's only source of revenue is student fees. The station could not afford to continue simulcasting if it had to pay royalties, Perlmutter said.

It is important that small stations like WXYC continue to be allowed to broadcast over the Internet because Internet broadcasting allows the station to reach a much broader audience, Perlmutter said.

WXYC was the first student radio station in the United States to broadcast live over the Internet.

Perlmutter also said Internet broadcasting helps small bands get started by allowing their music to be played outside of the local area of the small radio stations where they get their starts.

"It's important to reach out to a larger audience," he said.

WXYC members and listeners, along with students across the country, sent letters to their local representatives supporting the station's right to broadcast online and opposing the prohibitive royalty fees, Perlmutter said.

He said he does not know whether the panel will make further recommendations to the Library of Congress but that he thinks students will continue to fight any legislation that would prohibit them from broadcasting online.

Perlmutter said he thinks the Library of Congress did the right thing by denying the panel's recommendations.

"It's really great," he said. "And it's a relief."

 

The University Editor can be reached at udesk@unc.edu.