Sorry, Amos, I'm obviously not grasping this.

I can see that if a webcast wants to send out Elton John, or the latest pop wonder then they will have to pay rates determined by the artist (or their agent, who will CARP guidelines into account). This seems right and proper, and I would say the same applies to someone like Martin Carthy or any other artist who makes a living from their music. Both the Internet and traditional radio try to count the number of listeners: the only essential difference I can see is that the internet figure is more accurate (but as any Web master can tell you, trying to figure out the number of users from the number of IP hits ain't easy!) If a webcaster hopes to build up some sort of business 'on the cheap' by buying CD's of Elton or whoever and simply broadcasting them while charging for advertising, say, then I have no qualms about that 'caster having to pay a high rate. (Remember also there are forces such as the need to sell advertising that lead radio and other media to be 'optimistic' about the number of listeners it actually has, so the rates per listener may be closer than you think!)

On the other hand, if we use the Internet radio for the thing it is ideal for - letting local groups transmit their music to a larger audience and hopefully building a following - then the price is also between these artists and the webcaster and I don't see what CARP has to do with it.