From Doug Abernathy, Regional Vice President, Radio One:

"I-tunes, cable television, etc - have a completely different business model than what happens at a radio station - those guys charge you a subscription fee" http://www.39online.com

THE FACTS: iTunes does not, in fact, charge a subscription fee. It is a store - not a station - which renders it irrelevant to Mr. Abernathy's argument.

But notice that he left out Internet radio (webcasts). Many, if not most, are free to listeners (and similarly work off an ad-based model). And they pay artists. In fact, when Mr. Abernathy's stations are simulcast on the Internet (for free to listeners, without a subscription), they pay artists.

The distinction is fabricated. As noted in a recent piece by the contributing editor in radio publication Radio World: "Doesn't airplay on [Internet and satellite radio] generate record sales, too? And does it make sense that the only currently profitable sector of the industry [broadcast radio] is exempted from these royalties, while the emerging components [Internet, satellite, and cable] are not? Arguments that the technologies are different enough to warrant separate compensation schemes have been lost on many legislators."