It is with profound regret we’ve had to remove our online All 80s service as we have been unable to renegotiate an equitable music royalty rate with the main music copyright agencies.

The online rate quoted by both the PPI and MCPS/IMRO is 0.001 cent per song per listener. Though it sounds miniscule collectively it equates to € 260 per listener per year. If we have just 1,000 listeners it’s plain to see that a royalty in excess of a quarter of a million euro becomes an unworkable sum.

We very much support the principle of music copyright. We feel it’s important that composers, performers and record labels can charge for their work allowing them to continue to do so as a profession and for the betterment of society.

However for the principal to work there needs to be a reasonable balance between the interests of the copyright owner and user which is not the case in this situation.

Unfortunately Ireland is one of the most expensive countries in the world to operate an internet radio station from. Rather than join the widespread violation of the law in this area, as a professional company, we have chosen to cease operation for the time being online as we are unable to bear the cost of music royalty.

We will continue though to develop All 80s and other digital radio projects as we work towards our trial of DAB+.

We wish to thank our many listeners for your support and kind comments.

Related posts:

1. Cliq Closed
2. 80s ReBorn