Webcaster Royalty & Licensing Cost Calculator

How Internet Radio Royalties Work: The Essential Guide for Webcasters

Broadcasting an online radio station or internet audio stream introduces significant copyright compliance obligations that differ dramatically from traditional terrestrial AM and FM radio. When you transmit music over digital networks—whether via Icecast, Shoutcast, HLS, or WebRTC—you are transmitting both the musical composition (the underlying lyrics, melody, and chords) and the sound recording (the master track recorded by the artist and record label).

In traditional US terrestrial broadcasting, AM and FM radio stations are exempt from paying sound recording performance royalties to record labels under Section 114 of the US Copyright Act—a historic concession known as the terrestrial radio exemption. However, digital transmissions enjoy no such exemption. Any entity transmitting sound recordings over the internet must acquire digital performance rights or face severe statutory copyright infringement damages under federal law.

1. US SoundExchange Statutory Licenses (37 CFR Part 380)

In the United States, digital webcasting of copyrighted sound recordings operates primarily under a statutory compulsory license administered by SoundExchange, a non-profit collective designated by the US Copyright Royalty Board (CRB).

SoundExchange collects performance royalties from non-interactive digital audio services and distributes them directly: 50% to the copyright owner (typically the record label), 45% to the featured recording artist, and 5% to a fund for non-featured session musicians and vocalists. Webcasters fall into several distinct statutory categories:

• Commercial Pureplay Webcasters: Digital-only broadcasters transmitting customized or scheduled linear web streams. For 2026, the statutory rate is $0.0025 per performance for free, ad-supported non-subscription streams, and $0.0032 per performance for premium subscription streams.
• Commercial Broadcaster Simulcasters: Terrestrial AM/FM stations streaming their simultaneous on-air feed over the internet. Under the multi-year settlement agreement between the National Association of Broadcasters (NAB) and SoundExchange, the statutory simulcast rate is $0.0028 per performance for 2026, accompanied by a non-refundable annual minimum advance fee of $1,100 per station (capped at $110,000 for network station groups).
• Noncommercial Webcasters (Educational & Religious): Stations operated by accredited colleges, universities, or non-profit 501(c)(3) religious entities pay a flat statutory fee of $1,000 per station per year. This flat fee covers all streaming transmissions up to 159,140 Aggregate Tuning Hours (ATH) per month. If a noncommercial station experiences an audience surge exceeding this threshold in any month, excess performances are billed at the commercial pureplay rate of $0.0025 each.

2. Demystifying the Aggregate Tuning Hours (ATH) Metric

The universal currency of internet radio audience measurement is Aggregate Tuning Hours (ATH). One ATH represents one listener tuned in to your stream for exactly one hour, or two listeners tuned in for thirty minutes each.

For instance, an independent jazz webcaster maintaining an average of 50 concurrent listeners streaming 24 hours a day across a 30-day month generates 50 × 24 × 30 = 36,000 ATH. Assuming the station spins an average of 15 songs per hour with 100% music programming, that yields 36,000 × 15 = 540,000 total sound recording performances. At the commercial pureplay rate of $0.0025, the monthly SoundExchange liability is exactly $1,350.00.

3. Australia Webcaster Licensing: APRA AMCOS vs PPCA

In Australia, copyright law strictly divides musical works and sound recordings across two separate societies, neither of which has statutory compulsory parity with the US system:

• APRA AMCOS (Musical Works): Covers the composers, lyricists, and music publishers. APRA AMCOS offers a public, transparent Online Mini Licence for non-interactive streaming with three straightforward tiers:
  • Tier A (A$275/year): Up to 60,000 streaming sessions annually.
  • Tier B (A$550/year): 60,001 to 180,000 streaming sessions annually.
  • Tier C (A$1,100/year): 180,001 to 360,000 streaming sessions annually.
• PPCA (Sound Recordings): Covers the master sound recordings and recording artists. Unlike APRA AMCOS, the Phonographic Performance Company of Australia (PPCA) publishes no public rate card for general internet radio webcasting. Commercial online stations must negotiate directly with PPCA for an annual bespoke licensing agreement based on revenue, listener hours, and music rotation.

Because PPCA licensing is strictly quote-based and varies widely based on commercial status and business size, SpinRadio deliberately excludes PPCA from automated calculation totals. Any calculator that claims to provide an automatic, all-in Australian webcaster royalty total is fabricating estimates without statutory justification.

4. Performance Rights Organizations (PROs) for Musical Works

In addition to SoundExchange (which covers sound recordings), US webcasters must also license the musical compositions with the major Performing Rights Organizations (PROs): ASCAP, BMI, SESAC, and GMR.

Most PROs offer specialized internet webcasting licenses designed for independent online stations. These typically involve an annual minimum blanket fee (generally ranging from $300 to $600 per year per PRO for small hobbyist and commercial webcasters) or a small percentage of gross station revenue (typically 1.5% to 2.5%). Broadcasters often budget an additional $1,200 to $2,500 annually across all four US PROs combined.

5. Worked Example Scenarios