Three weeks in now and we finally get a bit of good news.

Story via CNET and FMQB

After petitions and pressure from NPR and other broadcasting organizations, the Copyright Royalty Board (CRB) has agreed to hold a rehearing over the controversial, proposed new Internet radio royalty rates. The decision was formally made late Tuesday and the CRB cited a number of petitions from NPR, DiMA, Sound Exchange and many others.

No date has been set yet for the rehearing, but in the official order, Chief Copyright Royalty Judge James Scott Sledge wrote that the “Copyright Royalty Judges desire to hear the positions of each party on each of the issues raised in these motions.” Responses to the motions may be filed no later than April 2, which is also the date that written arguments may be filed on the issues raised by the motions.

Of course these are the same judges agreeing to a rehearing who also accepted pretty much everything SoundExchange had to say while ignoring the detailed submissions of Internet radio webcasters when they handed down their decision on rates back on March 1st.

After months of examining the issues and hearing submissions from representatives of Internet radio and SoundExchange, will they now suddenly find cause to change their opinions? I wonder.

UPDATE & CORRECTION

Via Radio and Records.com

Correction: Copyright Royalty Judges Only To Consider Rate Outcry

By Jeffrey Yorke

Attorney David D. Oxenford, a partner in the D.C. law firm of Davis Wright Tremaine LLP, spent some time Wednesday morning telling clients, “Whoa, hold on, it’s not time to celebrate yet,” after they read here that the Copyright Royalty Judges had agreed to a rehearing on royalty rates. The judges did not agree to a rehearing. What the judges did on Tuesday was, after hearing a loud outcry from the industry and public over the new, dramatically higher internet music streaming rates, invite additional written comment on the issue. They make no promise to act on comments or to hold additional hearings or take a new position on the rates they set for 2006 to 2010. The judges ordered that all responses must be submitted to them no later than April 2.

Emphasis mine.

There goes that smile you may have had after reading the initial news.