SHOUTcast and Icecast Stream Licensing
I want to run a legitimate and legal Internet radio station? How do I get the rights to the play Copyrighted Music on my Internet radio station, and how much does it cost?
An Internet Radio Station can play a single stream of music legally. If you play a loop of music, the loop must be at least three hours long. You must not intentionally play songs by the same artist or from the same album too often. You definitely can't let users pick what songs or artists they hear. Under no circumstance will you help users to save the songs to their computers and play them whenever they want. You must display to the user the song name, artist, and all other available information about the song while the song is playing . You must not publish a schedule of what's coming up on your station and when. All of these rules are part of the DMCA (Digital Millennium Copyright Act) definition of an Internet radio broadcast.
Here is a list of Companies that you can go through to get Music Licensing for your SHOUTcast or Icecast Internet Radio Station. They cover major organizations that handle the right to perform a composition (song) in public. U.S. ASCAP, BMI, SESAC, SoundExchange, & SOCAN (Canada). Nearly all popular musicians are a member of one of the big three: ASCAP, SESAC, and BMI. Click on the links to find out more information about how to make your Internet Radio Station legal.
