back-words... the power of the dark side...

Wednesday, March 7, 2007
the power of the dark side...
this sort of thing is exactly why i get on my soap box about the riaa.
theyre out of control and they need to be stopped. extreme tactics of limitation always piss me off and this is no exception, by far. at some point, other ppl will get tired of the riaa as well. it cant happen too soon as far as im concerned.
maybe one day music lovers will rise against the riaa. maybe thats a dream. maybe my give-a-damn protests will inspire others to take action as i do. maybe ppl will grizzle and agree or maybe theyll just tell me to shut up. i know im not the only one to feel this way. im sure im not in a minority about feeling this way, either. no matter how i look at it- as a consumer, as a dj, as a producer- i feel in my heart the riaa is out of line, corrupt with an over-justified sense of power. they may have had a reasonable point back in the 50s but they abandoned that stance decades ago and have only grown progressively worse. its time something be done about it before its too late...

March 06, 2007
RIAA's new royalty rates will kill online radio!!

The Copyright Royalty Board (CRB) has recently released a revised fee schedule for internet radio. Left unchanged, these rates will end internet radio, period. The RIAA has effectively convinced this federal committee to establish rates that make online radio a non-viable business.

It's an utterly ridiculous ruling that renders any form of internet radio non-economic. We are continuing in the belief that sanity will return as everyone involved, including the 50 million avid online radio listeners, realize just how outrageous this is.

You can probably tell by this post that I feel strongly about this. Online radio has opened up a new world for musicians and listeners alike. It has brought millions of otherwise disconnected music-lovers back to music radio, and has opened up tremendous access and promotion for thousands of musicians - both obscure and well known.

We are striving very hard to build a business. We employ eleven full time people in our ad sales team, and despite very high licensing and streaming costs, believed that we could make it work over the next several years if internet advertising continues to grow. This ruling drives the licensing fees (fees that are NOT paid by terrestrial broadcasters) completely out of reach, and makes our goal impossible.

This is a terribly ill-conceived attempt to crush a powerful and positive grassroots movement that is sweeping across the music world. The record labels' struggles have nothing to do with online radio and killing it will further hurt their business, not help it.

We need your help. If you'd like to get involved please write your congressperson. Below is a link to point you to the right person. If you can, please send a letter or a fax that asks for a reply (emails are too easily ignored).

Congressional Directory by Zip Code

If you want to learn more details, try this informative blog post from an attorney familiar with the process:

Now more than ever, thanks for your support.

Tim (Founder)

Posted by Tim Westergren at March 6, 2007 12:49 AM
Comments

Has anyone come up with a letter that someone could use as a template for this issue?

I'm finding it difficult to succinctly articulate the issue in a letter to my rep's in Congress.

Posted by: Matt at March 6, 2007 08:06 AM

Move to Europe. The RIAA can't bankrupt you there. Make friends with Last.fm while you're over there.

Posted by: Mr. Gunn at March 6, 2007 10:04 AM

There's a letter template over at: http://www.savenetradio.org/ (under the first bullet).

Is Pandora affected by this??? Acording to the cited blog -- the new rules don't apply to "interactive" webcasters.

Posted by: Peter B at March 6, 2007 12:18 PM

This letter looks like a good example: http://www.congress.org/congressorg/bio/userletter/?letter_id=1088793686

Posted by: Chris at March 6, 2007 12:24 PM

It's a good idea to send RIAA a couple of links to some good internet radios (including this one!) and show this actually helps the music business. Big time.

Posted by: D W at March 6, 2007 02:38 PM

Is it possible to get EFF involved? With their help, the message may get louder and stronger.

Posted by: David Kleiner at March 6, 2007 02:47 PM

This really ruined my day. Surely there is a way around this, such as moving your operation overseas.

Posted by: David McBride at March 6, 2007 03:26 PM

Thanks for the comments, folks. Re. Peter B.'s post, these affect ALL webcasters with an ad-supported service. They definitely affect us. Tim (Founder)

Posted by: Tim Westergren at March 6, 2007 05:54 PM

If they weren't so blind, they'd actually realize that internet radio promoted artists. But I guess, all they see is green - such that they just overlook it all.

Posted by: Alex at March 6, 2007 08:46 PM

http://www.petitiononline.com/SIR2007r/petition.html

http://www.congress.org/congressorg/issues/alert/?alertid=9461656&content_dir=ua_congressorg&mailid=custom

Posted by: Alex at March 6, 2007 08:48 PM

Amazing... I was stunned to hear about this the other day. It reminds me of the 'pauper jails' where they would arrest people who couldn't pay taxes thinking that would increase revenue.

Crazy

Posted by: John at March 6, 2007 10:23 PM

Here is an online petition that you can sign. Please sign up if you agree at:
http://www.petitiononline.com/SIR2007r/

It states:

As a fan of Internet radio, I was alarmed to learn that music royalty rates were recently determined by the Copyright Royalty Board (CRB) which, if enacted, would certainly silence most or all of my favorite online listening services. For most webcasters, this royalty rate represents more than 100% of their total revenues!

The shuttering of the webcasting industry would be a loss for not only independent business owners, but also for musical artists, for copyright owners, and for listeners like me who enjoy the wide variety of choices available via Internet radio.

I respectfully request that Congress look into this matter and initiate action to prevent it. As the CRB rate decision is retroactive to January 1, 2006, please understand that time is of the essence -- as the immediate impact of this decision could silence many free Internet radio stations forever.

Posted by: m at March 7, 2007 02:20 AM

In any case, I wouldn't be too optimistic and assume that a reasonable decision on appeal will be forthcoming.

If I were running a webcast, I think it would be prudent to prepare a "poison pill" just in case. Forcing an entire industry into bankruptcy is something that has happened before and will happen again. (e.g. in transportation it was the ICC rulings and the Penn-Central merger) I have heard some people observe that suing under fair-trade practices via NAFTA may be feasible (if you move internationally), although I think this is a stretch.

In this case, being essentially considered a criminal (and yes, they do consider legitimate webcasters criminals-- it's only a matter of time before they come out and say it...) even though you have tried to play by the rules is wrong, but otherwise unremarkable.

What did you think would happen? With RIAA raids on businesses for mixtaping by their own member-artists, with the Pirate's Bay getting raided illegally in Sweden (outside US jurisdiction)-- what do you think would happen?

The Big Labels will stop at nothing, even if you try to appease them. I have never downloaded music illegally, but with the confusing rash of laws anyone may find themselves harrassed and baselessly sued, either individuals or companies.

Don't expect fair play, non-DRMed tracks, or ethics.

As a last resort, I would seriously consider dumping your company's music files into a data repository overseas. Be sure to make backups-- I'll see you on the other side.

Posted by: Joe at March 7, 2007 06:25 AM

Sucesso para vocês!!

Roberto from Brazil.

Posted by: Roberto da Paixão at March 7, 2007 06:44 AM

This will even affect those that aren't ad-supported. I run a small hobby radio station and this will surely shut down my station!

Posted by: Sam at March 7, 2007 09:47 AM

I read an article about this in today's Wall Street Journal (3.7.07), and quite frankly, am sickened. Pandora isn't my only Internet radio destination. For me there's also Radio Paradise, SOMA FM, and many others. And that's the point -- options, creativity, and diverse independent music! Please avail yourself of the options on these sites, particularly Radio Paradise, for signing the online petition and contacting your Congressional representative. It's ridiculous that on one hand Congress would consider banning the merger of Sirius and XM Radio due to concerns about limiting listener choice, and at the same time let these royalty rates pass. Pandora people, I haven't logged onto the home page yet, but am hoping you create a link (if you haven't done so already) to create attention to this situation.

Posted by: Steve D at March 7, 2007 10:21 AM

I will write my representatives.

Another suggestion: Any of you who have purchased music from the independent studios or artists you have found on Pandora (or elsewhere on the internet)should go to the contact links on their web sites,let them know where you found their music and ask them to weigh in against this - with both RIAA and the congress.

Obviously, RIAA is captive of the big producers, or they wouldn't be trying to kill off the only effective free advertising available for these independent labels.

Posted by: Tom Nield at March 7, 2007 12:01 PM

I'll let my reps know. But plan for the worst. What do you think of Aruba?

Posted by: CTD at March 7, 2007 01:28 PM

Why laws in another country have to affect me and everyone else otside???

Internet radio supports new artists making music market hard to control by transnational music labels.They think that in a near future they wont be able to manipulate music trends any more (maybe they alredy have loose control) .
Don't forget that they are loosing audience on his media due the lack of good options
I mean has anyone listened how bad music is in air wave radio9stations thse days

Posted by: Francisco at March 7, 2007 01:56 PM

Like Steve I really enjoy Pandora and other Internet radio stations like Radio Paradise. I'm including a link to the online petition I've already signed in case it can help. http://www.petitiononline.com/SIR2007r/petition.html

The world is run by those who GET INVOLVED, so do all you can to stand up and keep Internet radio alive!

Posted by: Heather at March 7, 2007 02:04 PM
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