Radio Webcast Ruling Plays to Big Favorites

The Goliaths among Internet media companies just got a leg up on the Davids.

That's the conclusion of one participant in the Internet music business, following a Thursday evening ruling covering fees related to broadcasting music over the Internet.

The closely watched decision, which provides people on different sides of the issue plenty to complain about, gives artists and music labels less money than they had hoped to receive -- and previously had believed they'd be getting -- from companies that operate Internet-only radio stations.

But the fee structure announced by the Librarian of Congress Thursday is also expensive enough to pose a costly roadblock to independent startups unaffiliated with major media companies, says an executive at a top-rated Internet broadcaster. ...