News story about the formation of the UK Podcasters' Association to lobby for less "restrictive" terms for use of music copyrights in podcasts, written by Grant Goddard in June 2006 for The Radio Magazine.

1. NEWS: UK PODCASTERS FORM
TRADE BODY TO LOBBY FOR
LESS "RESTRICTIVE" MUSIC
LICENSING TERMS
by
GRANT GODDARD
www.grantgoddard.co.uk
June 2006

2. The UK Podcasters' Association [UKPA] has been formed to lobby royalty
collection agencies to offer them a music licence for podcasts that is less
onerous.
UKPA chairman Dean Whitbread said: “We would like to be able to pay a
reasonable fee, without worrying about restrictive ‘rules’ whilst we pioneer,
develop and exploit new commercial formats. If they let us do that, ultimately
they'll make a lot more money out of us."
In March, the Performing Right Society [PRS] and the Mechanical Copyright
Protection Society [MCPS] launched its first trial podcast music licensing
scheme that requires podcast producers to pay the greater of:
 12% of their revenue, or
 1.5p per music track per download.
Producers are also required by the licence:
 to obscure the first and last ten seconds of every song used with speech or
a station identification;
 to use music for no more than 80% of the duration of the podcast;
 not to use music by only one artist in a podcast;
 not to play a song more than once in a podcast;
 not to use more than 30% of songs by the same composers in a podcast.
The UKPA met PRS and MCPS last month for what it called “a fair and frank
exchange of views” during which it argued that “restrictive controls developed
from the broadcast media model” could “inhibit the development of new
content formats and stifle a nascent industry”. The UKPA says that the cost of
the PRS/MCPS licence has recently doubled to £400 per annum and has
grown in length from two to 30 pages, which it says “may now mean the
independent podcaster has to take legal advice which will add several hundred
pounds to the licence cost”. It says that, in the meeting, PRS/MCPS accepted
“the need to distinguish between the small-scale, amateur enthusiast
‘bedroom’ podcasters, new podcast businesses, and the commercial
broadcasters’ use of the medium.”
Results from a British Market Research Bureau survey in February 2006
showed that 17% of adult internet users had downloaded a podcast in the last
six months, and that 24% intended to do so in the next six months. These
percentages rose to 28% and 33% respectively amongst 16 to 24 year olds,
58% of whom already own an MP3 player (more than half of which are Apple
iPods).
According to Gfk, £660m was spent on MP3 players in the UK last year (up
from less than £200m the previous year) and they now account for 44% of all
audio products sold.
[First published in 'The Radio Magazine' as 'Podcasters Say Licence "Unworkable"', #740, 14 June 2006]
News: UK Podcasters Form Trade Body To Lobby For Less "Restrictive" Music Licensing Terms page 2
©2006 Grant Goddard

3. News: UK Podcasters Form Trade Body To Lobby For Less "Restrictive" Music Licensing Terms page 3
©2006 Grant Goddard
Grant Goddard is a media analyst / radio specialist / radio consultant with thirty years of
experience in the broadcasting industry, having held senior management and consultancy
roles within the commercial media sector in the United Kingdom, Europe and Asia. Details at
http://www.grantgoddard.co.uk