Internet audio company Live365 has slashed its staff and is seeking partners to keep the business alive.
The changes were necessary in light of the recent Copyright Royalty Board decision, which left out provisions for small commercial webcasters, making their royalties for 2016 and beyond higher.
The previous provisions for small webcasters to opt for a percentage of revenue model were not renewed. We reported they were due to expire at the end of 2015. Some smaller webcasters hope this kind of detail will be in the final text of the CRB decision when that’s released.
But Live365 can’t hope for that; the 17-year old company recently lost the support of investors who had helped the firm for 10 years and CEO N. Mark Lam is looking for new ones to keep the business going. He’s had initial discussions along these lines. “With nearly two decades of Internet streaming experience and thousands of paying customers, this could be an ideal situation for a company looking to diversify into streaming audio,” according to the webcaster.
The true value of the company lies in its musical diversity, according to Live365 Director of Broadcasting Dean Kattari. He likens it to “a sanctuary where you can hear music and other content that it so unlike the template broadcasting that is heard on most terrestrial radio.” He emphasizes real people create the channels which are “a home for musical discovery because many of these stations play emerging artists that terrestrial stations are reluctant to take a chance on.”
“It would be a great loss for this to all go away,” states Kattari.
