Here is e-mail I just got from the Founder of Pandora Internet Radio about a recent decision by the Copyright Royalty Board in Washington DC to nearly triple the licensing fees for Internet radio sites.
“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.”
You can go here to sign a petition that will go to your local Congressional representative to “save Internet Radio.” If you believe in the cause and love the variety and freedom of Internet Radio, here’s a way you can make a difference. It takes less than a minute and your petition is directed instantly to your respective congress person.
I just got a response back from my congress person, so it is the real deal.
Here is what your message will look like:
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Thank you for using Save Internet Radio Mail System
Message sent to the following recipients:
Representative Jones
Senator Brown
Senator Voinovich
Message text follows:
[your name address get embedded here]
April 16, 2007
[recipient address was inserted here]
Dear [recipient name was inserted here],
As a fan of Internet radio, I was alarmed to learn that the Copyright
Royalty Board has decided to raise music royalty rates by 300 to 1200
percent. For most webcasters the new royalties exceed their revenue and
they simply will go bankrupt and stop webcasting.
[your special message goes here - optional of course]
I respectfully request that Congress look into this matter and take action
to prevent it. Please understand that time is of the essence since the
new royalty rates are retroactive to January 1, 2006 so they will cause
immediate bankruptcies if they become effective for even one day. Please
don’t let the music die.
Sincerely,
Jay
