Yes, The Devil is in the Details...
in plain English

Because of I've been off working on other projects, I had not read the details of the new LOC Reporting Requirements, until I talked to Doc yesterday. Now that I've had time to kick back and go over them, here's my 25 cents on the subject.

The Library of Congress has issued the Interim (temporary) Recordkeeping Requirements for Transmission of music over Internet Radio.  What this means is the Library of Congress has FINALLY told the Internet Webcasters and Radio people exactly what information they must submit in their reports to levy the Copyright fees for usage. Or at least for the time being.

What I've read shows me SOMEONE at the LOC has some common sense. They appear to want to assist the webcasters in complying with the Law. Whether we like the Law or not, is another debate for another day.

As it sits now, the list of information the LOC wants is very short compared to the unreasonable volume of information the RIAA and LOC had wanted originally. (I can't find the original URL.)

The New Requirements include:

1. "the name of the service submitting the report
2. the transmission category of the service [i.e., a single letter code identifying the nature of the service transmitting the performance, e.g., Eligible nonsubscription transmission by webcaster of over-the-air AM or FM radio broadcast, other eligible nonsubscription transmission by a webcaster, eligible nonsubscription transmission by commercial broadcaster of over-the-air AM or FM radio broadcast, eligible nonsubscription transmission by non-CPB, noncommercial broadcaster, etc.]
3. for each sound recording transmitted by the service during the relevant period:
   1. the featured recording artist
   2. the sound recording title
   3. the name of the record album containing the sound recording, if in the possession of the service, or supplied to the service, at or before the time of the performance
   4. the marketing label of the sound recording, if in the possession of the service, or supplied to the service, at or before the time of the performance; and
   5. the total number of performances of the sound recording during the relevant reporting period."  [LOC Requirements]

The original taxonomy of information they had wanted submitted was impossible to collect. 99.44% of the webcasters could never have complied with the requirements. So someone at the LOC got the clue.

"The interim requirements are likely to require each service to report the following information for a certain period of time during each calendar quarter:" [LOC Requirements]

This too is also good. The current requirements are very similar to those required by traditional radio broadcasters. This includes limiting the reporting periods to a small period of time every quarter vs. forcing internet radio broadcasters and the radio stations who simulcast to report each and every song they webcast 24/7/365. I call that a serious reduction in paperwork and data collection.

Other than money, one of the webcaster's major gripes at the LOC Roundtable Meeting was that no reporting software in existence could generate the volume of information RIAA and SoundExchange had wanted the LOC to collect. When it came to older or independent recordings the information they were demanding did not exist at all.

In my opinion expressed to the LOC, it was a very unreasonable request of the Government to put the burden of responsibility on the webcasters to collect all the information that SoundExchange demanded be given to them through the LOC. No one including the LOC had ever collected and complied all of the information they wanted. There was no funds to pay someone to do the task. So the LOC got real and modified and scaled back the reporting taxonomy of information so that it fit a the broadcast model.  

While I still disagree with the LOC on the fees being charged Internet Radio Stations and the additional fees being levied on Broadcast Radio Stations who simulcast, the LOC has with this Ruling made it possible for the webcasters to obtain reasonably priced software to collect and report the information to the LOC.

The LOC will be releasing the Requirements for Ephemeral Recordings of music shortly.

4:23:05 PM