Ain't democracy great?

From FMQB:

New legislation was introduced today to the U.S. Senate, which could wipe out the Copyright Royalty Board (CRB) decision on Internet radio royalty rates. Senators Ron Wyden (D-OR) and Sam Brownback (R-KA) have introduced the Internet Radio Equality Act, which would vacate the CRB decision on increasing royalty fees. The bill would set a 2006-2010 royalty rate for webcasters at the same rate currently paid by satellite radio (7.5 percent of revenue). The bill also proposes a change in the rate setting standard used in royalty arbitration, to closer align Internet radio standards in negotiations with satellite radio. Also, the bill resets the royalty rules for noncommercial stations.

Sen. Wyden said in a statement, "Keeping Internet radio alive is part of a broader issue that is important to me -- keeping the e-commerce engine running by preventing discrimination against it."

"I am alarmed by the recent Copyright Royalty Board decision and the effect it will have on Internet radio -- especially small webcasters with limited revenue streams," Sen. Brownback added. "I am hopeful that with this bipartisan legislation Internet radio will continue to flourish."

Jake Ward, spokesperson for the SaveNetRadio campaign, commented on the bill, saying, "Since the CRB's ruling,
Internet radio listeners, webcasters and the artists they promote have joined together to urge Congress to prevent this vibrant industry from going silent on July 15. On behalf of Internet radio's 70 million monthly listeners, thousands of webcasters, and the incredible diversity of talented artists it supports, we commend Senators Wyden and Brownback for their understanding of Internet radio's importance and for their leadership in taking the steps needed to save it."

Looks like this bill will have no problem in jetting right through the halls of Congress and becoming law. Doesn't mean you shouldn't contact your senator and tell them exactly how passionate you are about Internet radio, now....

CRB set to kill net radio dead

I've mentioned this twice before, and today there's a new shitty update:

Internet radio broadcasters were dealt another blow late Monday, when the U.S. Copyright Royalty Board upheld its decision to raise the level of royalty fees. The suggested new rates could potentially be high enough to put the majority of Webcasters out of business, though the CRB said that the appeals filed had not "made a sufficient showing of new evidence or clear error or manifest injustice that would warrant rehearing."

Also in the CRB ruling, the board opted not to postpone the May 15 deadline that would begin the new rates. It also clarified how royalties would be calculated for 2006 and 2007, allowing the use of estimated ATH (Aggregate Tuning Hours), but just as a "transitional period." The board also noted that the new rates would also apply to music streaming onto mobile devices.

There you have it, folks. Unless something is done to change this at the last minute, May 15th is the day you'll likely hear thousands of internet radio streams go off the air.

In an encouraging sign, a new group has popped up to fight this. I am joining to help and I hope that you will, too:

On the other hand, the new coalition SaveNetRadio has launched www.SaveNetRadio.org, which is made up of representatives from Live365, Pandora and other online broadcasters. Spokesperson Jake Webb said in a statement, "The CRB's ill informed decision to increase royalty fees to this unjustifiable level will quite simply bankrupt most Webcasters and destroy Internet radio. Radio on the Internet is not a passing fad or for a niche audience. It is an enormously popular medium that offers unprecedented diversity for its more than 70 million listeners and for artists. Particularly for independent artists, Internet radio has the ability to reach millions of fans across the country who would otherwise never hear their music. Net radio has changed the way people listen to, buy, promote and market music and we cannot afford to let it die."

Link via [FMQB]

Tip: never buy music from these people

Some music artists are now coming out in defense of the indefensible new Internet radio royalty rate hikes coming down the road. We here at Open All Night have touched on the topic before, and it basically comes down to this: if you're for independent, affordable Internet radio, you're against these new royalties. Should they come to pass, they will make it unaffordable for the smaller Internet stations to continue legally broadcasting online.

A variety of musicians have spoken out in favor of the controversial, proposed higher royalty rates for Internet radio proposed by the Copyright Royalty Board (CRB). Drummer Jody Stephens (Big Star, Golden Smog) said in a statement, "If music adds commercial value to someone's site, then there is a monetary value due the writers and recording artists. The decision by the Copyright Royalty Board helps us afford to continue to add this value of music."

"A lot of internet users think of music as a product created and generated by major labels with corporate megadollars and so think nothing of taking or paying very little to use this music," added singer Michelle Shocked. "But the evidence shows that a large majority of music is now created by independent artists with very small margins trying earn a living and it's in that context that the recent decision to raise the internet broadcasting rates are seen as an encouragement to creativity and independence."

Jay Jay French of Twisted Sister added, "With the shrinking royalties from the usual sources, the ever expanding digital universe is apparently becoming the future and, before our very eyes, it is here now. I wholeheartedly support all organizations that endeavor to collect and account to all the hard working artists whose material is exploited. I applaud these new royalty increases as they scratch the surface of the new world order."

Last week, following criticisms and petitions from NPR and other broadcasters, the CRB agreed to grant motions for a possible rehearing over the royalty rates.

So, Big Star, Michelle Shocked, and Twisted Sister are the only musicians FMQB could scrounge up that were in favor of these new rules. As such, they should be punished -- with our wallets. That punishment can include simply not purchasing their records, or, as I like to do, hunting down the individual artists and whaling on them with a purse like a tough little old granny that just left her weekly karate lesson.

Also, this seems like the perfect opportunity to pimp this cool site I found that lets you search for RIAA-safe artists: RIAA Radar.com

Link via [FMQB]

Recording Industry trying to kill Internet radio again

From CNET News:

Rep. Edward Markey (D-Mass.) had harsh words for a ruling released Tuesday by the U.S. Copyright Royalty Board. It proposes raising the amount that commercial Internet radio services pay to record companies by 30 percent retroactively to 2006 and in each of the next three years through 2009. Each station would have to hand over a minimum $500 royalty payment.

"This represents a body blow to many nascent Internet radio broadcasters and further exacerbates the marketplace imbalance between what different industries pay," Markey said at a hearing here titled "The Future of Radio". The hearing was convened by the House panel on telecommunications and the Internet, of which Markey is chairman. "It makes little sense to me for the smallest players to pay proportionately the largest royalty fee."

What we have here is a move by the recording industry, prompted by the XM / Sirius merger proposal, to squash independent online broadcasters who dare to play by their own rules. The RIAA wants to place impossible spin tracking requirements and charge exorbitant fees for the rights to play music -- moves that are not designed to recoup money from these online broadcasters, but instead crafted to severely limit the playing field.

Under these rules, only internet broadcasters that can afford to pay the already-astronomical fees would be able to continue, and those that can't afford payments retroactive to 2006 find themselves in shit up to their necks. The $1.28-per-listener-per-hour rule being proposed here could completely shut down the internet operations of little guys like WCUR and WPRB, and even severely hamper the efforts of some bigger players like KEXP and Y-Rock on XPN.

To take WCUR for example, assume a rather meager 20 listener hours a day for 275 days out of the year (June, July, and August are typically pretty dead) -- that's $7,000 on top of the initial $500 fee. Seven grand is a solid one-third of that station's budget, and could probably force their hand to either turn off their internet simulcast or to (gasp!) start advertising on their online stream to make up for their lost revenue. And, if the station's listener base grows, the problem grows in proportion as well: if WCUR ever gets so popular as to have just 50 listener hours a day, these fees will suck them completely dry.

Of course, we're using the WCUR example because it's the one we're intimately familiar with -- but we know the world probably won't miss it when another shitty college station that plays pro wrestling entrance music as the majority of it's format gets canned. The stations that truly care about the music enough to dedicate their time and effort to providing quality alternatives to the homogenized muck that's out there now will certainly all perish. This bill has the power to single-handedly destroy the most promising radio medium since FM went mainstream -- and the best way to stop it, it would seem, would be to contact the guy we already know is on our side, Rep. Ed Markey, and voice your support for his actions against this crap.

Link via [CNET & Open Congress]