Copyright Kerfuffle Contributes To More Bulgarian Radio Listeners

Published February 22, 2017 at 6:37 AM EST

(SOUNDBITE OF SONG)

UNIDENTIFIED SINGER: (Singing in foreign language).

STEVE INSKEEP, HOST:

Good morning, I'm Steve Inskeep with the kind of musical interlude you'll hear if you tune into Bulgarian National Radio. A change in broadcast rights fees hit the Bulgarians hard. The price for playing popular, copyrighted songs from around the world quadrupled. So Bulgarian National Radio adapted, going back in time. It changed format to play songs with lapsed copyrights from before 1946. And listenership is up. It's MORNING EDITION. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.

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