About This Section
This page deals with US Copyright law. If your station originates, or is streamed from, countries outside the USA, you should do your own research on laws that apply where you live. Most countries have very similar laws to the USA.

Understanding US laws regarding royalties
If your new US-based station webcasts any form of content that is protected by US copyright law, you do not have a right to air it without paying royalties. The same laws that were recently used by the RIAA to bring lawsuits against file-sharing users and operators apply to internet radio stations. Some stations operate "under the radar" but those operators are taking a big risk. The penalties if caught webcasting illegally can be financially devastating. The word "bankruptcy" could be quickly added to your list of life experiences.

Licensing your station
So what are the alternatives to running an illegal station? Well, if you've visited BMI, ASCAP, SESAC and SoundExchange, you'll know that these are the agencies that collect royalties on behalf of the artists and songwriters. They have a lot of requirements, one of which is a healthy amount of money. In addition, they require monthly reports including all songs played, when the songs were played, your revenue and expenses, and more. For a small station just getting started, direct-licensing with the above agencies involves a minimum investment of $3000 annually, and a ton of paperwork that makes IRS forms look like a piece of cake.

Does this mean that for you to webcast your music collection, you have to pay licensing fees of $3000/year or more? No.

Licensed Networks
There are a very small number of services on the web that will license your US-based station with some, or all, of the above agencies for a very low monthly payment. Three that come to mind are Live365, SWCast and LoudCity. You should do your own research on which service is best for your station. Based on our own experiences, we recommend LoudCity.

At LoudCity you can easily set up your own legally licensed internet radio station. Sign up now, and then once you're up and running, return to I Like Tunes and list your new station for the whole world to enjoy!