Is there any standard for how digital music websites pay royalties?
Part of it’s based on the size and how many listeners there are, which is the digital model as opposed to the old days. A lot of that’s still just a mess and it’s changing and not standard yet. Actually, artists in the future, it seems like they will be paid someday for terrestrial performances. But that’s another thing; songwriters and artists are often at odds with each other, because songwriters have been paid forever. But now what’s going to happen when other musicians on the recording are paid? Will that take away from songwriters? Will it mean that radio’s going to protest because it’s like, “Oh no, we have to pay even more now to promote your music?” And the NAB [National Association of Broadcasters] often views it as that: “We’re doing promotional work for you.” It seems like with such a high royalty rate, ringtones could be very lucrative. Oh yeah. I think it’s crazy not to take advantage of it. I remember hearing Terry McBride of Nettwerk, he was talking about Avril Lavigne.
