The United States Copyright Royalty Board has finalised its Internet radio royalty rates, and set a rate so high for music performances that it threatens the very viability of online music stations.

The board is believed to have settled on US$0.0008 per listener per song, which for a small commercial audience of around 1000 simultaneous streams works out to around one Australian dollar for every single song played.

Non-commercial webcasters will be charged US$500 per channel per year, although if the station averages more than 200 simultaneous listeners, the commercial rates will then apply.

Small to medium webcasters are said to be distraught at the decision, claiming the new fees are far in excess of their total revenues.

At the top end, AOL Radio is estimated to be up for US$20 million a year on current reported metrics.

The fees are also set to increase at an astonishing 30% per year until 2010, which could put all streaming music radio in jeopardy.