AccuRadio, a music streaming service founded in 2000, has navigated nearly 25 years of growth while grappling with high royalty obligations that disproportionately affect smaller services. CEO Kurt Hanson emphasizes the challenges posed by the Copyright Board's rate-setting, which alienates small players due to expensive legal involvement. A recent lawsuit from SoundExchange took AccuRadio by surprise, despite ongoing negotiations for a fair payment plan. Hanson expresses disappointment over the failed settlement talks, especially since AccuRadio has consistently met its payment obligations, highlighting both the service's reliability and the need for reform to support emerging artists.
AccuRadio has spent almost 25 years building an innovative and well-loved music streaming service while facing royalty obligations that climbed to levels that seem to suggest the system is rigged, perhaps inadvertently, against small and midsize streamers.
The Copyright Board's rate-setting process leaves small and midsize players out of the process because of the extremely high costs of lawyers, expert witnesses, and discovery make participation virtually impossible.
We were extremely disappointed that we couldn't reach a negotiated settlement, adding that AccuRadio has been a consistently reliable SoundExchange licensee for the vast majority of the past two decades, having paid SX over $13,500,000 in royalties.
The existing rate structure not only challenges the sustainability of services like AccuRadio but also limits exposure and revenue potential for emerging and mid-tier artists.
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