Record companies face off against music publishers and songwriters like Lyle Lovett in Washington this week in a growing dispute over royalty payments that threatens industry plans to sell music online.
The major recording labels and music publishers, who own music rights, are at odds over on-demand or interactive music streamed over the Internet, which allows consumers to listen to whatever song they want when they want.
The US House of Representatives Subcommittee on Courts, the Internet and Intellectual Property has called a hearing for May 17 as the major record companies gear up to launch online subscription services they hope will convert millions of Napster users into paying customers.
