Dont consider DG safe just yet.
Compulsorary liscense forces coverage for people NOT under the RIAA
Umbrella
per
http://www.dailykos.com/story/2007/4/24/141326/870----------------------------------
SoundExchange (the RIAA) considers any digital performance of a song as falling under their compulsory license. If any artist records a song, SoundExchange has the right to collect royalties for its performance on Internet radio. Artists can offer to download their music for free, but they cannot offer their songs to Internet radio for free. (
http://soundexchange.com/faq.html#a7)
So how it works is that SoundExchange collects money through compulsory royalties from Webcasters and holds onto the money. If a label or artist wants their share of the money, they must become a member of SoundExchange and pay a fee to collect their royalties (
http://soundexchange.com/faq.html#b6). But, and this is a big "but," you only get royalties if you own the sound recording copyright. If you are signed to a major label, chances are you don’t. Even if you do own the copyright to your own recording of your own song, SoundExchange will collect Internet radio royalties for your song even if you don’t want them to do so.
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Actually, the way it works is that IF the webcaster opts into RIAA's racket (and it IS racketeering), they pay RIAA directly and whenever the copyright holder gets wind of it and demands their money, the webcaster points them to RIAA, who hands over the dough (minus a sizeable cut for holding it for them). If they don't opt into this SoundExchange garbage, they must negotiate with the copyright owners, as was the previous case.
Does not effect DG. DG has negotiated with the copyright holders for the music broadcasting rights and is not using the SoundExchange royalty scheme.
What they're trying to do is set themselves up as the de facto clearinghouse for all royalties. They're trying to make it so that they become more convient and more accepted as the middleman for getting money to the artists/labels. A station that plays a variety of songs might have to negotiate with several labels and people within the labels, versus just contacting RIAA's racket. It's HIGHLY shitty and it's muddying the waters so that people will contract with them rather than the copyright holders, but it's not outright piracy.
