If you are unaware there is a fight going on to Keep internet radio alive detail below
CRB denies rehearing motions spurs webcasters to action
From an AP story in MarketWatch: "Internet radio broadcasters were dealt a setback Monday when a panel of copyright judges 
threw out requests to reconsider a ruling that raised the royalties they must pay to record companies and artists.
Live365 CEO: New royalties
mean "there is no industry"
"In the latest ruling, the Copyright Royalty Board judges denied all motions for rehearing and also declined to postpone a May 15 deadline by which the new royalties will have to be collected.
"However, they did grant leniency on one point, allowing the broadcasters to calculate fees by average listening hours, as they had been, as opposed to the new system of charging a royalty each time every song is heard by an online listener. That exemption counts for last year and this year.
After that, the new per-song, per-listener fee structure goes into effect."Many Webcasters say the sharply higher royalty fees will put them out of business. Talk of the ruling dominated a one-day meeting of Internet radio broadcasters being held in Las Vegas [Pictured left: Kurt Hanson speaks at the RAIN Summit in Las Vegas] alongside the annual conference of the National Association of Broadcasters, a group representing local radio and TV stations.
"N. Mark Lam, chief executive of Live365 Inc., a privately held company that aggregates audio streams from thousands of radio stations and other small webcasters, said that under the new royalty rules, 'there is no industry,'...
Experts say legislative solution
more likely than help from Court
"Also on Monday, several Internet radio broadcasters announced a campaign to raise awareness of the issue and encourage listeners to write to their representatives in Congress [SaveNetRadio.org, see yesterday's RAIN coverage here]..."David Oxenford [right], a lawyer representing several Webcasters, said the
next step was likely an appeal to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, but he noted that process could take at least a year. Meanwhile, he said, the prospects of successfully getting a court to block the decision of the royalty board judges is slim..."Jonathan Potter [left], the head of the Digital Media Association, which represents several large Webcasters including Yahoo, AOL and Microsoft Corp.'s
MSN network, said his group was not currently in talks with SoundExchange but may be soon. He said his group and other Webcasters would be turning to Congress, where he said he sees 'a lot of legislative support.'"Read the entire article at MarketWatch.
I’m trying to gather an understanding of these rate hikes it is greed and bad business. How can you legislate the end of a growing economic entity because you can’t control it! This is reminiscent of the days of prohibition when they tried to out law alcohol but it still gave birth to the bootleg industry. What they failed to realize then and now is that if the people want it they will get it legally or illegally. We live in a world were opportunity is not a guarantee it is for sale to he who has the most money or the best lawyer. Gone are the days of free speech and Choice it is almost as if we are heading truly toward George Orwell’s 1984 were being legislated out of free enterprise and choice. I’m truly ashamed of how this so-called free society is conducting it’s self. It is no longer for the people but ready and willing to robe the people of choice. I don’t know who said this but “the price of freedom is eternal vigilance” my question is how and when did we fall asleep at the wheel.
The steps that must be taken I hope are not too little to late we have to talk to our legislative body and show them how outrageous an egregious these rate hikes are. This is just a power play to make more ridiculous amounts of money and monopolize an industry that they lost control of years ago. This is a shallow but true attempt at control of music and the way it is received. Let us not forget that less than 20 years ago most of the music you hear now would never be heard because what you listened to was solely left up to a few gate keeper’s of information they determined what got played and what did not with the advancement of technology we now hear as much music as we want from groups that record labels would never conceder. This rate hike has far reaching implications than just money it could turn the clock back on a now growing Indie & Independent industry. Don’t get me wrong I want artist to get paid for there music especial get there music heard but if you attach the out lets from which these artist get there air play how are they to make money. Remember record labels and royalties companies are in the business to collect and make money and they have been around a lot longer than we have but if we banned together and urge our listeners to contact there local representatives we can defeat this type of legal disparity.
Sincerely,
Norvell Molex Jr.
Spirital Dance L.L.C
http://thejazzsuite.mypodcasts.net
http://66.179.60.66:8989/wgjb.m3u
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