When a House Judiciary subcommittee begins two days of hearings this morning on proposed changes in the Copyright Act, the Digital Media Association will have achieved a milestone in its long running legal and regulatory battle with the Recording Institute Association of America (RIAA).

The subcommittee on will be reviewing Copyright Office recommendations for changes to the Digital Millennium Copyright Act that would enlarge Congress' original 1996 legislative definition of "interactive" Web radio. If Congress ultimately approves the changes, Webcasters could gain parity with traditional radio broadcasters in the royalty rates that must be paid to copyright holders for the use of their songs.

The RIAA, though, likes the current law. Webcasters can qualify for what is known as compulsory licenses -- the same fees paid by traditional radio stations -- if they don't tell users what the next song will be, play no more than three songs from any album, and no more than two consecutively, within any three-hour time block. They are also prohibited from playing more than four songs by a specific artist within three hours.

Those Web radio stations that are attempting to let users define their listening tastes beyond genre and type (for instance, the ability to program the station to play only songs the users want to hear) are in violation of the Copyright Act as currently defined and infringers do not qualify for compulsory licenses. The RIAA has already filed suits

The recording industry contends that if Web radio broadcasters want the same fee breaks as traditional radio, it must act like a traditional radio station, which offers listeners virtual no interaction. Otherwise, Web radio is something else and must pay higher fees to use copyrighted works.

Earlier this year, the RIAA filed copyright infringement suits against several DiMA members that RIAA claims are in violation of the Copyright law because their interactive policies exceed current law.

In April of 2000, the Washington, D.C.-based DiMA, which represents, among others, Launch.com and MTVi, petitioned the Copyright Office to review and enlarge the definition of interactive Web radio so that more of its members and their business models based on interactvity could obtain compulsory licenses. The RIAA sought to block the review on the legal grounds that the DMCA already defined interactive Web radio and the commercial fears that if users are allowed to listen to what they want, when they want it, CD sales will plunge.

According to metrics firm MeasureCast, the audience for Web radio stations tripled between January and October of this year. Jupiter Media Metric estimates U.S. consumers who bought music online this year will number 30 million, a jump from 2000's 21 million and a major leap from 1997's 2 million.

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Jupiter also estimates the number of domestic paying consumers of online music will increase to 40 million next year, 62 million in 2004, and 82 million in 2006.