Total posts : 45366
Broadcasting vs. personal use is all about intent. If on your part 15 station you are playing station IDs, comercials/PSAs, asking listeners to call in, or working as an on-air DJ then it is pretty clear that you are broadcasting because you intend for a listening audience (the public) to tune in to your station. If you play nothing but music and podcasts with no intention of having members of the public tune in, then you are using your part 15 transmitter for personal use. Based on your web site (http://mram.50webs.com/), it seems pretty clear that you are broadcasting; you intend for members of the public to tune in to your station. Forgive me if my assumption there is wrong.
Broadcasting recordings for which you do not hold the copyright requires a license, this is true for music, theatrical works, and even news casts. That is why, whether you are a part 15 station or a full power commercial station, you need licenses from ASCAP, BMI, and SESAC to broadcast music. This means that, as a broadcasting part 15 station, you need to become an NPR affiliate station (and pay the licensing fees) in order to legally broadcast those podcasts. Note that the agreement you quoted states, “NPR Podcasts are available for personal, noncommercial use only.” If you are broadcasting those podcasts, it is clearly not personal use.
I hope that clears it up a bit. I really hate to be a wet blanket here but broadcasting NPR podcasts without a licensing agreement is clearly illegal. I’m not telling you not to broadcast it, that decision is totally up to you. It is my opinion that you are unlikely to get caught though I don’t know if I would announce your use of NPR on the station’s web site. Given NPR’s stance toward part 15 though, I would expect them to make a big deal out of it if you do get caught.
