What kind of permit/license is needed to duplicate and distribute music to Radio for syndicated programming ?

Answer 1

If you're thinking about doing this in the US, you do not have to pay any license/copyright fees to prepare programs for radio broadcast. Radio stations pay annual fees to permit them to broadcast copyrighted music and this will cover the music that you record in your syndicated programming.

Note that this is for music used for entertainment. If you use a copyrighted song for a commercial or other promotional application, you will have to get permission from the copyright holder for that. However, if you're putting together an oldies show (for example), you can play any song you want and the radio station will cover the licensing fees.

By the way, in the US, radio stations pay these fees to ASCAP (American Society of Composers and Performers) and BMI (Broadcast Music International).