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August 13, 2009

KXUL FM-91.1 Broadcasting Director/ULM faculty member contributes to Webcasting copyright settlement

A small group that included the University of Louisiana at Monroe’s Director of Broadcasting recently negotiated an eleventh-hour settlement concerning Webcasting copyright royalty rates for sound recording performances by student operated radio stations across the nation.

The team of negotiators acting on behalf of College Broadcasters Inc. included ULM Assistant Professor of Mass Communications Joel Willer, Will Robedee of Rice University in Houston, and San Francisco-based attorney Colette Vogele. The group reached the agreement with representatives of copyright owners and artists.

Willer serves as faculty supervisor of student operated radio station KXUL FM-91.1, located on the ULM campus, and has been involved with Webcasting copyright issues for many years.

Through the Webcaster Settlement Act of 2009, Congress had authorized the negotiation of rates and terms alternative to those set by the Copyright Royalty Judges in the Library of Congress. Negotiations were settled in the last hour before the July 30 deadline established in the statute, according to Willer.

“As a result of the settlement, college Webcasters nationwide will now be able to continue operating under a predictable cost structure, without the uncertainty that would surround a costly and lengthy arbitration before the CRJs,” he said.

The terms of the deal will be available to all college Webcasters nationwide through the year 2015.

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