Axiom Home Page Forums General Discussion The Water Cooler US Legislation proposes to kill Internet radio

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Silencing Internet Radio

Internet Radio has been sentenced to death. | Digital Copyright Canada

I'll Fight For You, Internet Radio

If I actually lived in the US (instead of just being effectively governed by its laws) I would write my congressperson and senator. As a Canadian. I feel somewhat powerless.

This is madness. The American First Amendment is supposed to protect free speech... but if corporations like Gannet and ClearChannel control all of the most powerful media outlets, then all other single voices are just trees falling in a forest without an audience.

I got this email from Pandora today:

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: http://capwiz.com/saveinternetradio/issues/alert/?alertid=9631541

Please feel free to forward this link/email to your friends - the more petitioners we can get, the better.

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_signature.jpg
-Tim Westergren
(Pandora founder)

One appeal has failed already.

Capwiz isn't exactly a "petition"; it's an automated, web-based political mobilization tool (my verbiage, not theirs).

I'm splitting hairs, but I do think the distinction is important.

Elected officials are unlikely to see "beyond the trees" when they get hundreds or thousands of the exact same email.

I think that writing your representatives is good. I'm not clear about the value of using other people's tools and words to do so.

I also think petitions can be very valuable, if used strategically.

There is tons of information on Radio Paradises home page on what can be done to help.
PLEASE get involved if you listen to any interenet radio.

Being from Canada, today (May 16) Pandora is blocking me from their site...this totally sucks, I usually listen to them all day at work.

Geeze...what now? Back to somafm I guess!

I feel your pain. I am cut-off as well although right now I am listening to radioparadise.com as an alternative. The group at Pandora are very sympathetic about this issue and appear to be doing what they can legally to expand their streaming in North America. We'll have to wait to see what transpires.