As we reported previously, today is the day that hundreds, if not thousands, of online radio stations are going silent, broadcasting static, or PSAs and other messages to their listeners to bring attention to the impending royalty rate hike from the Copyright Royalty Board.
Across the net you can see signs of the protest in action. Yahoo! Music's radio station guide is featuring links to SaveNetRadio.org at the top of its list. SomaFM, a popular indie radio station broadcasting from San Francisco is playing intermittent PSAs against the background of the BART. Rhapsody has a large banner across their front page showing a woman with duct tape across her mouth, with a zipper drawn on it. ShoutCast has information posted where its normally lengthy radio station guide sits, issuing a call to action.
If you care about online radio, and want the luxury to be able to turn it on a year, two years or even five years from now, then act today and contact your Senators and State Representatives. Don't sit idly by and let net radio become a victim of senseless royalty rates, while terrestrial FM & AM stations continue to play the same boring material over and over, without having to pay the same exorbitant royalties. Post links to other net radio stations participating in today's protest in the comments.
Update: KCRW Santa Cruz is joining the protest today by interrupting all programming to discuss the upcoming royalty rate hike with Mike Riksen of NPR, Kurt Hanson of AccuRadio, Tim Westergren of Pandora, Caryn Mathes of American University Radio, Ian Rogers of Yahoo! Music, Ted Leibowitz of BAGeL Radio and Johnny Floater of Live365.com. Check their site for more info. (Thanks Brad!)
Related:
Download Squad Interview: Tim Westergren of Pandora
Net Radio gets two more months to live
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
6-26-2007 @ 2:50PM
redwolf said...
also participating: sky.fm / di.fm
SAVE NET RADIO!!
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6-26-2007 @ 4:55PM
Ratchet the Lombax said...
I don't even listen to normal radio so I couldn't care less about internet radio. Let them charge whatever they want.
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6-26-2007 @ 5:47PM
Tony said...
I agree with Lee (comment #2).
I'm Catalan (from Spain) and here there's a lot of people hearing internet music, basically US radio stations, along our regional stations.
Besides that, what about foreign stations? If they want to broadcast using Shoutcast servers (or any other kind of server, hosted in the US), do they have to shut down due to that music has to be licensed in some way to be processed by those servers? (or listened inside the US)?
I hope that law doesn't get approved.
Good luck, Webcasters!
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6-26-2007 @ 7:55PM
Chris Brentano said...
@Lee, you're talking about two different issues. This is in regards to the substantial radio royalty increases which only applies to stations in the USA. Webcasters will be required to pay higher per-song royalties, which will be *retroactive* to January 2006, and the royalty fee will *increase* each year until 2010. This will put a great number of stations out of business because they won't be able to afford the fees. This doesn't represent 'big business' at all, it's the small independent broadcasters that will go out of business. Big companies like Yahoo and Rhapsody make enough revenues to be able to pay the increased fees, although they will likely include a lot more advertising to try and help offset the cost.
In comparison, terrestrial (FM/AM) radio stations *don't* pay per-song royalties, instead paying a once-yearly fee which is typically far, far less expensive than the per-song royalty fees. They get off easier than their Internet counterparts.
There's a great interview (link) that Victor Agreda Jr. did with Tim Westergren of Pandora on this that I think helps explain the situation really well.
@Tony, the final determination of these rates were already handed down and become law on July 15th. You can find more info at SaveNetRadio.org.
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6-26-2007 @ 7:56PM
Chris Brentano said...
Whoops, here's that link:
http://www.downloadsquad.com/2007/03/23/download-squad-interview-tim-westergren-of-pandora/
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6-27-2007 @ 1:28AM
Mysterius said...
@Lee and @Tony: Good points. The campaign should expand to include international listeners by encouraging them to write to their representatives and government leaders, urging greater public awareness. Perhaps somebody (an internet radio fan?) up in the hierarchy able to influence foreign policy will listen. It's a feeble hope, but that's all I can think of. :(
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7-06-2007 @ 4:14AM
Lee said...
Why is it that only American citizens have a say in this? It affects people from all over the whole world when yet another group of uninformed polical powermongers put the interests of big business before the interests of the people at large - we want a say too.
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