Not wishing to play down their achievement or anything, but I suspect most people in the internet radio sector will be saying "about fecking time too".
PPL, the licensing body representing loads of record labels, has announced its intention to launch new licences for webcasters. Many of those radio stations broadcasting exclusively online have been operating without a licence from PPL for some time because, if their service fell outside the domain of the 'non-interactive internet radio licence' set up by the royalties body in 2003, there was just no licence available.
The new licences will enable internet radio stations who offer archive programming, customised services or limited interactive services to operate legitimately for the first time.
PPL legal bloke Peter Leathem told CMU: "This is fantastic news for our members and our licensees. Although many webcasters have taken up our existing internet radio licence, it is quite limited in terms of what it allows them to do. The fact that we haven't been able to license services such as archived programmes and interactive services has not only proved frustrating for potential licensees but has meant that some services have been operating outside of the law. We know that the demand is out there for these services and we want to get out there and license them on behalf of our members - this is a largely untapped market and internet radio is still developing as a broadcast medium".
Key players in the internet radio sector, who have been somewhat frustrated by PPL's procrastination in this domain, will welcome the new licences, though they will presumably want to look at the conditions and costs being proposed by the royalties body before cracking out the champagne.
All this talk of internet radio's got me thinking. Mmmm. A CMU Radio Show, now that would be nice.