Brazil Court Approves Royalty Charges on Streaming Music

A private agency that collects and distributes royalty payments to composers and musicians can demand payment for music streamed on the internet, Brazil’s second highest appeals court ruled Feb. 9.

The Superior Court of Justice, a federal appeals court just below Brazil’s Supreme Court, ruled 8-1 that the agency has the right to charge and collect royalties for streaming services, podcasts, online radio and any internet platform carrying music, according to a summary from the court. The decision applies to webcasting and simulcasting technologies.

The agency, the Central Collecting and Distributing Office or Ecad, was created in 1976 to collect ...