Yesterday, a music industry group said small Internet radio broadcasters could pay discounted royalty rates for streaming music online through 2010, a move that could keep the struggling businesses alive. Webcasters who earn $1.25 million or less in annual revenue would have until Sept. 14 to accept SoundExchange's offer and pay royalty fees of 10 or 12 percent of annual revenue. This move is the latest in the internet radio saga which started May of this year, when a panel of three copyright judges ruled on higher royalty rates for internet radio broadcasters after the music industry and Webcasters were unable to agree on a royalty system to replace a previous set of agreements that expired Dec. 31, 2005.
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