Copyright Royalty Board Killed the Internet Radio Star

Yeah, so that's obviously not a very clever title, but it is accurate. Speaking of not clever, in case you haven't heard, the U.S. Copyright Royalty Board hiked royalty rates for Internet radio stations so high they will render the medium unsustainable. So now, many artists who only get coverage online (don't expect Clear Channel to pick up the slack here) won't get any coverage at all. This isn't about the stations not wanting to pay royalties or copyright fees-they have been this whole time anyway. It's basically about greed.

So I saw this on Something Glorious and thought I'd pass it along...

Hi, it's Tim from Pandora,

I'm writing today to ask for your help. The survival of Pandora and all of Internet radio is in jeopardy because of a recent decision by the Copyright Royalty Board in Washington, DC to almost triple the licensing fees for Internet radio sites like Pandora. The new royalty rates are irrationally high, more than four times what satellite radio pays, and broadcast radio doesn't pay these at all. Left unchanged, these new royalties will kill every Internet radio site, including Pandora.

In response to these new and unfair fees, we have formed the SaveNetRadio Coalition, a group that includes listeners, artists, labels and webcasters. I hope that you will consider joining us.

Please sign our petition urging your Congressional representative to act to save Internet radio.

Understand that we are fully supportive of paying royalties to the artists whose music we play, and have done so since our inception. As a former touring musician myself, I'm no stranger to the challenges facing working musicians. The issue we have with the recent ruling is that it puts the cost of streaming far out of the range of ANY webcaster's business potential.

I hope you'll take just a few minutes to sign our petition - it WILL make a difference. As a young industry, we do not have the lobbying power of the RIAA. You, our listeners, are by far our biggest and most influential allies.

As always, and now more than ever, thank you for your support.

-Tim Westergren
(Pandora founder)

Also check out: Yawn or Grrr.
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