Save Internet Radio!
copied from: http://www.savenetradio.org/
On March 2, 2006, The Copyright Royalty Board (CRB) approved royalty rates that will bury any small webcaster, and create a heavy burden even for big broadcasters like Yahoo and AOL Music. How high will these rates be? Around 100% of a small webcasters revenue, give or take a few points, in most cases. What?! That's impossible to pay! Yep, it sure is..
How did this happen? The RIAA told the CRB thats what they wanted, and the CRB just gave it to them.
Your're probably thinking, hey that's awful, but who are the the RIAA and CRB?.
The RIAA (Recording Industry Association of America) is a lobbying group formed by the five largest record labels. They are embedded in Washington D.C. They make sure laws are written to keep them rich, no matter what. They made headlines a few years ago opening lawsuits against elderly people and children for trading music online, even though some of them didn't even have computers. Check out the latest RIAA headlines.
The CRB (Copyright Royalty Board) is part of the US Copyright Office. The Board is charged with determining the royalty rates that would be determined by a willing buyer and a willing seller in a marketplace transaction. They decided to jack the rates beyond a broadcasters means despite decades of royalty rates being %1 - %2 of broadcaster revenue. Raise your right hand if you want to take away consumer choice, hurt working artists, damage small record labels and put small webcasters out of business
Protect your right to hear eclectic indepenent radio and discover new artists. You can save Internet radio with less than five minutes of your time. Write your congressional representative today.
Congress: http://www.house.gov/writerep/
Senate: http://www.senate.gov/general/contact_information/senators_cfm.cfm
For more information go to: http://www.savenetradio.org/