Press Release

Songwriters and Music Publishers File Petition to Set Industrywide Internet Royalty Rates.

Level Playing Field Essential For Music to Thrive on the Internet

NEW YORK, December 20, 2000 - In an action that National Music Publishers' Association, Inc. (NMPA) President and CEO Edward P. Murphy characterized as "regrettable but necessary," NMPA filed a petition today with the United States Copyright Office to establish statutory royalty rates for the downloading and streaming of music on the Internet. The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) filed its own petition on November 29th, but NMPA had held off until now in the hopes that a negotiated agreement could be reached with the recording industry prior to the end-of-year deadline for the filing of the petitions. Those negotiations reached an impasse this week.

"This is a very disappointing turn of events," said Murphy, "especially after two decades of harmonious dealings with the recording industry. We share an interest in the protection of copyright, which has fueled the creative efforts of songwriters and artists during the last century and produced a great musical heritage. We both want those efforts to continue and for music to flourish in the Digital Era."

"We have entered into licensing agreements with many leading independent distributors of music on the Internet and have worked with Internet companies in accommodating new and still-evolving business models for the delivery of music by download and streaming," Murphy continued. "We regret that our discussions with the recording industry have not been as constructive. It is the position of songwriters and music publishers, however, that the playing field in the new, digital world must be level in order for music to thrive on the Internet."

According to George David Weiss, President of the Songwriters' Guild of America, "Songwriters want to get their music to the public and were early supporters of the opportunities provided by the Internet to achieve that goal. As an industry founded on creativity, we have been excited by the innovative efforts of Internet companies that appreciate the value of music and wish to build legitimate businesses that respect and reward the creative efforts of the songwriter."

NMPA recently announced that songwriters and music publishers had reached agreement with MP3.com and Emusic.com on licensing terms for the on-line streaming of music from digital "locker" services. Terms include the payment of a one-time fee for inclusion of each version of a song on the licensee's main database, as well as the payment of one-quarter cent each time a song is streamed from such a service.

"Our door will always remain open to any company -- including recording companies -- that wants to propose terms for on-line licensing to our members," concluded Murphy. "We will, however, continue to defend our rights against unlicensed uses."

National Music Publishers Association: The National Music Publishers' Association, Inc., founded in 1917, works to protect and advance the interests of the music publishing industry. With over 800 members, NMPA represents the most important and influential music publishing firms throughout the United States. Established in 1927, The Harry Fox Agency, Inc., the licensing subsidiary of NMPA, provides an information source, clearing house and monitoring service for a large percentage of music manufactured, distributed and transmitted electronically in the United States and around the world. HFA represents more than 26,000 music publisher principals, which in turn represent the interests of more than 150,000 songwriters.

The Songwriters Guild: The Songwriters' Guild of America is the nation's oldest and largest organization run exclusively by and for songwriters. SGA is an unincorporated, voluntary association representing approximately 5,000 songwriters throughout the United States and the estates of deceased SGA members. SGA is governed by a board composed entirely of songwriters. Among other functions, SGA provides music licensing, royalty collection and audit services for its writer members.