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SINGAPORE: Tuesday was officially the day the music died. On the Internet, that is.
After talks over new licence fees with the Recording Industry Performance Singapore (Rips) fell through, SPH UnionWorks has joined other radio stations in the country and stopped its Internet streaming services.
Radio stations run by MediaCorp and Safra Radio stopped Internet streaming features earlier this month and are still in negotiations with Rips, the collective licensing body of 13 record companies that issue licences to broadcast music. It follows an amendment to the Copyright Act in December.
Previously, radio stations were exempted from paying record companies when songs played on the Internet are part of a radio broadcast.
But Rips is requesting annual licence fees for online streaming as well. This will cost broadcasting companies thousands of dollars in combined licences fees.
“Negotiations came to a halt yesterday so we had to take streaming down at midnight Tuesday morning,” said Jamie Meldrum, 39, programme director for Radio 91.3.
“At this point, we’re discussing internally how to continue serving our listeners online. It’s a bit of a step backward for... both sides of the equation.”
A notice on the its website reads: “Sorry, 91.3 has had to stop streaming our radio signal on the Internet. A new music licensing regime has led to excessive music royalty rates that no longer make streaming a viable option.”
A similar message appears on the website of its Chinese sister station, Radio 100.3.
Internet radio listener Fong Kum Chee has given up trying to get her Internet radio fix after Class95 and 938Live went off-line. “People will just go for alternatives... You still have YouTube or you can play your own MP3s,” she said.
- TODAY/yb
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