The Fight Continues Between Internet Radio and the Copyright Royalty Board |
|
By: Paul Philbeck Posted: 2007-04-28 09:14:06 |
| Shortly after March 2nd, 2007 webcasters began voicing their concern that the new performance royalty rates would essentially put them offline and out of business. In a very short time the internet radio community launched a grass roots campaign to draw public attention to this issue. By utilizing the listener reach internet stations currently have and the use of prerecorded public service announcements the outcry was heard. Very quickly websites appeared online to fight the legislation through email, letters and petitions aimed at congress. Listeners were asked to contact their representatives and voice their opinions on the legislation. This campaign caught the attention of many news outlets and effectively brought the desired attention.SoundExchange after being pounded by the press defended their position and the rate increases. They then began their own grass roots campaign to counter the one launched by webcasters. Due to their recent publicity suing people for downloading illegal music when they didn't even own a computer, kids and little old ladies they have won no sympathy. They're next tactic was to get artists to speak out in favor of the new rates. A very few did. In response http://webcastersunite.net, an organization of independent webcasters, set up a petition for artists to sign that are against the new rates. It already sports 3 times more artists signatures than the SoundExchange posting. Webcastersunite.net believes all artists should have a say, not just the famous ones. This petition will be submitted to congress.Currently the National Public Radio (NPR) has filed appeals along with many other webcasting organizations. The Copyright Board agreed to hear arguments to determine if an appeal was warranted. Soundexchange filed it's own appeal against a rehearing of the rates. In my personal opinion I forsee a long drawn out battle if the rates are not amended to a more fair rate for all webcasters. It appears to me that Soundexchange is biting the hand that feeds it. Internet music sales have been steadily climbing over the last few years. The excessive rates that exceed the income of even the largest internet stations, would put literally thousands of internet radio stations out of business and offline for good. How can that be good for music and the artists that create it? |
| Trackback url: https://article.abc-directory.com/article/2268 |