INTERNET RADIO TO GO SILENT FOR A DAY Adrian McCoy – Pittsburgh Post-Gazette Turn on your favorite Internet radio station Tuesday, and you're likely to hear silence.
Webcasters say it's a preview of the near future if increased copyright fees for Internet broadcasters go into effect on July 15.
The Copyright Royalty Board ruled earlier this year to increase the fees Internet stations pay to record labels and artists to a flat fee for every track played. The increase is retroactive for the prior 17 months.
The day of silence is part of a national movement to raise awareness that the proposed increase will result in "a virtual shutdown all of U.S. webcasting," predicts AccuRadio CEO Kurt Hanson.
Thousands of webcasters across the country plan to pull the plug on Tuesday. One of the nation's largest -- Live 365 -- will shut down the 10,000 channels of varied music programming it carries.
"We understand the possible disruptions this may cause but feel drastic measures are necessary," according to a statement on Live 365's Web site. "By joining together with all other Internet radio stations, Live 365 will show them what they can look forward to if things don't change quickly: silence."
Webcasters such as AccuRadio, Rhapsody, Pandora, Yahoo Music and MTV Online also plan to go silent, while some stations will air public-service announcements on the campaign.
Leading the charge is Save Net Radio (www.savenetradio.org), a coalition formed to lobby for equal rights for Internet broadcasters. The Web site urges listeners to contact their legislators and sign an online petition.
Bills have been introduced in Congress that would grant some financial relief to webcasters. Instead of a per-song fee, webcasters would pay a percentage of revenues, like satellite radio does. A hearing in the House Committee on Small Business is scheduled for Thursday. |