SAVE INTERNET RADIO!!!

[Fritz]

Hey all...please go here and read what the RIAA is trying to do. Also gives you tips on what to say to your Rep in Congress. This is what I wrote to my representative.

Click here for information on saving internet radio.
Reps Name,

I am a Colorado resident, born and raised and I’m writing to ask you to save Internet radio by co-sponsoring H.R. 2060, the Internet Radio Equality Act.
The Copyright Royalty Board’s decision to increase royalty rates for webcasters is going to turn off my Internet radio and I do NOT want that to happen. I believe that artists should be fairly compensated for the music they make, but putting webcasters out of business will only hurt artists more. They depend on Internet radio to get their music out to fans and build new audiences. When the webcasters go off the air, so do artists. Please co-sponsor H.R. 2060, the Internet Radio Equality Act. Internet radio is one of the only bright spots for independent music and diversity. We NEED Internet radio. Don’t turn it off. Co-sponsor H.R. 2060, the Internet Radio Equality Act.
Not only is this great for the points listed above but in work environments where FM and AM radio just doesn’t’ come in, it would be a shame to cut off those employees from the Music and News they get from internet radio.

Please Co-Sponsor H.R. 2060.
Thank you.

Sincerely,

[mcrow]

I have been curious about this.

@ 19/100ths of a penny per song, how much does it cost to stream songs 24 hrs a day?

[Thatdirtykid]

I have been curious about this.

@ 19/100ths of a penny per song, how much does it cost to stream songs 24 hrs a day?

the thing is is many internet radio stations dont just play one song everywhere at once, but play a different song for each user depending on what the user wants to be listening to. so if they are playing 500 songs in a moment, about 5 songs is a penny, thats a dollar there. An hour of music is 15-20 songs. . .

[mcrow]

I have been curious about this.

@ 19/100ths of a penny per song, how much does it cost to stream songs 24 hrs a day?

the thing is is many internet radio stations dont just play one song everywhere at once, but play a different song for each user depending on what the user wants to be listening to. so if they are playing 500 songs in a moment, about 5 songs is a penny, thats a dollar there. An hour of music is 15-20 songs. . .

ahh...that makes more sense. Sorry, I'm totally ignorant about internet radio.

Yeah, I could see where paying $500 a day over maybe $150-$200 would make a difference.

I can feel their pain being a free lance writer for small press book/game publishers.

[ambiguous]

I'd say the artists are getting what they deserve. In today's music business, even the top artists struggle to make much money off their own music, and the internet is largely to blame. Whether its illegal file sharing or cheap radio, the artists are suffering for everyone else's convenience. People act like they "deserve" free music all the time. They don't. If that were the case, then maybe we could start a petition to bring down the price of everything else we buy every day. We could start with soft drinks. If I want a coke, but am too cheap to buy one and support the company, I should get it for free, right?

[Fritz]

The reason I like Internet Radio is that my building blocks FM/AM radio. So I listen to the local stations stream over the net. I also listen to a lot of indie music on sky.fm. If this bill doesn't pass then the local radio stations will shut down their online streams because of the cost to run the net stream would be overwhelming, therefore I won't even get to listen to the local stations.
It's just another greedy bitch ass move from the RIAA. I also subscribe to an internet radio site for 35$ a year. If this goes into effect the cost for that station will go through the roof forcing them to shut down because all their subscribers will not pay that cost.

"Free" radio is what helps artists. Free radio gets the songs into the market so people will go buy cd's which makes the producers money not the artists and then go to the concerts which is where most bands make their money from.

As a whole shutting down internet radio is crap and will hurt the artists.

[deaddisc]

The reason I like Internet Radio is that my building blocks FM/AM radio. So I listen to the local stations stream over the net. I also listen to a lot of indie music on sky.fm. If this bill doesn't pass then the local radio stations will shut down their online streams because of the cost to run the net stream would be overwhelming, therefore I won't even get to listen to the local stations.
It's just another greedy bitch ass move from the RIAA. I also subscribe to an internet radio site for 35$ a year. If this goes into effect the cost for that station will go through the roof forcing them to shut down because all their subscribers will not pay that cost.

"Free" radio is what helps artists. Free radio gets the songs into the market so people will go buy cd's which makes the producers money not the artists and then go to the concerts which is where most bands make their money from.

As a whole shutting down internet radio is crap and will hurt the artists.

Yea but it will help the record companies and this is all they care about. The artists should be pushing this bill too because as you said, the internet is a great place for up-and-coming artists to spread their sound and get people to come to their shows (which is how the artists make their money). So really I dont want to hear anything about the starving artists because they make like 10 cents on a CD sale if they are lucky. The RIAA and its associated record companies are greedy bastards that are shooting themselves in the foot here. They dont understand the long term benefits of growing their customer bases, which is probably why CD prices are ridiculous. The record companies pricing scheme is what is going to drive them out of business, who really is going to pay 15-20$ for a 10 track cd? They dont realize that if they drew more people in with lower cd prices and selected internet streaming then they would have greater long term stability, never mind getting a much better reputation with the people that really matter, their customers.

[Fritz]

Just got a letter back from one of my state reps.

Dear Mr. Fritz:



Thank you for contacting me with regards to the recent decision by the Copyright Royalty Board (CRB) to change Internet radio royalty rates. I appreciate your taking the time to get in touch.



Until this decision, royalty rates for Internet radio stations were determined based on percentage of revenues. Under the CRB ruling, these stations are now charged a fee per listener, which could in some cases mean that royalties owed would exceed overall income for stations. While artists rightly deserve to make a fair income off of their music, I am concerned about a payment system that causes many small Internet radio stations to go out of business. My staff has discussed this issue with Internet and Telecommunications Subcommittee Chairman Ed Markey's staff on the House Energy and Commerce Committee and will keep me informed as this issue develops. I will keep your views in mind should legislation come before the full House on this issue.



Thanks again for contacting me. To do my job well, I need to hear critical feedback from my fellow Coloradans.
Warm Regards,

Mark Udall