ABSTRACT
In the history of the still-fledgling media form of online radio, the year 2002 will come to be seen as a time of drawn-out legal and legislative battles over sound recording royalties which seemed to spell the end for US webcasters at a number of points during the conflict. The Copyright Arbitration Royalty Panel, CARP on webcasting held its deliberations on a royalty fee structure during the second half of 200. In Australia, the Copyright Amendment Act 2001 regulates royalty payments for digital media forms; it introduces a 'right of communication to the public' for which royalties can be claimed. In the United States, therefore, there exists something of an uneasy truce between webcasters and recording industry bodies for the time being. In Australia, growing awareness of webcasting issues amongst the recording industry and legislative changes as a result of the Australia– US Free Trade Agreement may well cause similar conflicts in the future.
