Hi George,

 

Thanks for asking your question.  The answer depends upon the type of content you wish to broadcast.  If you wish to broadcast music, you will indeed need to pay royalty/licensing fees to the organizations which handle the recording artists' music (SoundExchange, ASCAP, BMI and SESAC).  If you are broadcasting music by independent artists, you will have to work out an arrangement individually with each of them -- though truly, most/nearly all independent artists don't request fees.  I have yet to encounter an independent band/artist who has requested royalties for playing their music on my station.

 

There are organizations/services which help cover the cost of the licenses, such as Live365 (dot com).  With Live365, you pay a fee and, in return, they host your music -- that is, stream it to your listeners -- and they take care of most of the licensing details.  Caveat Emptor: Live365, though easy for the beginning 'Net radio broadcaster to use, leaves a few things to be desired.  For example, with Live365 you are somewhat restricted on how your station is presented to your listeners.  If you wish to build a brand, you may find it more difficult to do so using their services.  This depends, in part, on the level of service you choose to subscribe to.  Generally, the more you pay Live365, the more you are able to customize your presentation.

 

Should you choose to stream your music without the assistance of a service like Live365, you're likely to have more control over how your station is presented to your listeners, yet you'll have to pay the licensing agents more directly.  For example, you can stream directly from your own server, or use a media hosting service to do so, but you'll have figure out the tangled web of royalty payments.  There are probably services available that will make this easier for you to manage, but I'm currently unaware of them.  Does anyone know of these?  Please add to the conversation if you know anything about handling the licensing aspects of your Internet radio station.

 

Hope this helps,

Harold

 

On 1/17/07, George Mullins <georgecatzi@yahoo.com > wrote:

I've been having this idea in my mind of starting an internet radio
station of my own, and someone told me I have to have a license to do
such.

I would like to know, do you have to have a license to operate an
internet radio station?

Any assistance in this matter will be greatly appreciated.

Thanks!