And that means that independent web radio stations are not exempt from royalty rates, recently hiked, even if the artist never intended for there to be a royalty in the first place.

As "DJ ProFusion" at DailyKos wrote:

SoundExchange (the RIAA) considers any digital performance of a song as falling under their compulsory license. If any artist records a song, SoundExchange has the right to collect royalties for its performance on Internet radio. Artists can offer to download their music for free, but they cannot offer their songs to Internet radio for free.

Live365 reports that over 55 percent of music played over Internet channels come from independent artists (non-RIAA), compared to just 13 percent over the conventional airwaves. And though the solution was offered that webcasters only play independent music, they will not be exempt from royalty collections.

How does this happen?

TechDirt’s Mike Masnick sums it up well:

The RIAA tells people that simply listening to music without paying for it is a terrible crime that people should be punished for. Yet… the RIAA getting money for non-RIAA music and not paying the deserving artists that money is perfectly legal? Damn, the RIAA lobbyists are good.

>>> View all videos at  videos.webpronews.com

IODA is an acronym: Independent Online Distribution Alliance. And, as you might expect of a new wave music company, they throw one hell of a party.

Just when those in attendance at the Podcast and Portable Media Expo were getting riled up at the shindig hosted by IODA, LiberatedSyndication, and Kiptronic, hotel security pooped on the whole thing.

Of course, there were naked painted women. Loud music. Water fights, I heard. And, rumor has it, a significant amount of gyratin’. This is California, after all.

The companies mentioned above are young, spirited, excited about the revolution brought about in cyberspace. Is anyone, at any of them, even 30 years old? I’m not sure.

But Corey Denis (pictured below), Promonet Community Manager for IODA, is quite jazzed about the power to promote and distribute independent music without the music industry.

No money, no problem. No polish, no problem. Not the latest fabricated and saturated target-market, bare midriff cookie cutter, guaranteed short-lived flash-in-the-pan, pump-and-dump starlet with no cult following but a billion-dollar smile? No problem.

Wasn’t that the point of this whole conference anyway? Power to the creatives. Power to the consumer to choose the buffet over the prix fixe menu.

IODA’s clients include record labels many probably haven’t heard much about: 1001 Ways, Abandoned Love Records, Absolutely Kosher, and Arabesque Recordings, just to select from the beginning of the alphabetical list.

Denis says IODA helps independent labels and musicians distribute their music to services like iTunes, eMusic, Napster, and Rhapsody, among other retailers. The company does the marketing through Promonet, sharing selected tracks with bloggers, podcasters, streaming radio, and lifestyle sites.

Account management is done through the tellingly-titled Rightsholder Dashboard, which allows clients to manage sales, catalog data, review licensing, approve and authorize distribution.

Just remember, if you attend one of their parties, it’s best to plan an escape route for when security shows up.

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