Online Radio Pays Significantly More For Playing Music Than Broadcast Radio, Says Analyst

Online, October 1, 2012 (Newswire.com) - Invited to speak at the Music 4.5 conference 'Smart Radio' in London this week, radio sector specialist Goddard contrasted the business models of commercial broadcast radio and online 'webcasters'. He demonstrated that the most basic online radio station can pay at least six times more than the broadcast radio sector for rights to play the same music.

"Broadcast radio in the UK pays an average of approximately £2.25 for music copyrights for every 1,000 hours listened," explained Goddard, "whereas a small online radio webcaster could be paying between £15 and £23 per 1,000 hours listened. The precise amount depends upon how many songs are played per hour online."

Goddard's presentation concluded with a number of 'action points' for the online radio sector in the UK:
• Standardised, objective audience metrics
• Sector revenue tracking and analysis
• Statutory right to licence for online 'broadcast' purposes
• Economically realistic music copyright schema for online radio
• Default should be 'to license' rather than 'not to license'
• Automate the licensing process as much as possible
• Ensure funds flow back to copyright owners.

The 22-page presentation 'Online Radio: The UK Business Model' can be viewed at scribd.com which selected it as a 'Featured' document this week.

Background

Grant Goddard is the UK's leading media analyst of the radio broadcasting industry, having published more than 1,000 articles, analyst reports and presentations about the sector. He has worked for three decades in the radio industry, having created successful large-scale commercial radio stations in the UK, Europe and Asia. He is author of two books, 'DAB Digital Radio: Licensed To Fail' and 'KISS FM: From Radical Radio To Big Business'.

Radio Books publishes books and reports about the radio broadcasting industry for the consumer and professional markets. Radio Books can be purchased from Amazon and other online book retailers.