The report that iTunes will shut down if the royalty rate paid to music artists is hiked was some sort of a joke. Apple’s threat of shutting down the iTunes got deep into the brain Copyright Royalty Board, so the three panel of judges thought it best not to listen to the voice of National Musical Publishers Association. There will be no hike in the present royalty rate (9.1 cents) paid to Music artists. So, iTunes will not shut down.

The decision came out on Thursday and left National Musical Publishers Association to bite the dust. There was not much rejoicing in Apple’s camp too as it sticks to the statement that the amount it earned from song downloads is just enough for maintenance of the online music store.

This is all good news for music lovers and the assurance that iTunes will not shut down is music to the ear.
However, as an attempt to bring some smile to musical artists the Copyright Royalty Board has set 24 cents as the royalty rate for ringtones. This is the first time that the government has determined the rate for ringtones. There will be no more individual negotiations to purchase ringtones as it used to be earlier. This may sound like a pocket draining decision, but on the positive side, we will see more artist and label owners opening up sales of their songs as ringtones.

It seems none of the parties concerned is against the ruling; none of them have commented actually.