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Save Internet Radio

Thursday, May 15, 2008 We're Back

SoundExchange has ignored a Congressional directive and wasted 8 months pretending to negotiate with commercial webcasters while feigning interest in finding a solution that would keep webcasters in business. Time and patience is in short supply so…We’re back.

For seven months, SaveNetRadio has been repeatedly asked three questions by reporters, Congressional staffers, and the average Net radio listener:

1) So what’s going on with negotiations?

2) I thought webcasters were going off the air in July if they didn’t reverse the royalty decision – what happened?

3) Now what?

We are happy to report that we can finally answer those questions, so lets take them in order:

1) What’s going on with negotiations?

As you know, after more than 2 million phone calls were made to Congress by SaveNetRadio supporters and 150 Members of Congress signed on in support of legislation that would level the playing field for webcasters – the Internet Radio Equality Act – House Commerce Committee Chairman Markey (D-MA), directed SoundExchange to negotiate with commercial webcasters in good faith, and to come to a solution. That was in July of last year. Since then, little has changed. The offers made by SoundExchange continue to be between 3 and 4 times as high as the rates they charge cable and satellite radio providers and significantly more than webcasters can pay and stay in business. To sum it up – its been a year and all we are is a year older. The CRB’s irrational and unjustifiable decision has given SoundExchange the leverage it needs to extort unreasonable fees from an industry that simply cannot pay them, and without Congressional action and oversight, they do not seem interested or even willing to explore actual solutions.

Which brings us to our next question...

2) I thought webcasters were going off the air in July if they didn’t reverse the royalty decision – what happened?

The decision to continue broadcasting or close up shop is an individual one and SaveNetRadio would certainly not presume to know what was best for any webcaster. That said, the first year of the CRB’s mandated rate increase was nominal for most webcasters and the difference in rates paid by webcasters is being held in escrow and could be returned if/when a solution is reached. If nothing else, this is cause for optimism or at the very least, hope for webcasters and the majority have chosen to stay in business and fight.

And lastly…

3) Now what?

If two million phone calls couldn’t get the attention of SoundExchange or persuade Congress to act, maybe two million more will do the trick. Senator Sam Brownback of Kansas will be offering the Internet Radio Equality Act as an amendment to an intellectual property bill in the Senate Judiciary Committee tomorrow, many of his colleagues and fellow Internet radio supporters in the House and Senate stand ready to voice their support for the industry and the campaign on the floor of Congress, in the press and most importantly, in committee hearing rooms. It is time the Internet Radio Equality Act is given a hearing in Congress. Net radio supporters should demand that their voices are heard.
posted by Brendon Silver  # 8:57 AM  0 Comments

Friday, June 22, 2007 A Note of Support from the Hank Williams Museum - Beth J. Birtley

Dear SaveNetRadio Organizers,

I am the curator of The Hank Williams Museum in Montgomery Alabama. We have been open for eight years showcasing memorabilia and artifacts of Hank Williams and what he has meant to Montgomery and Country Music. I have a close working relationship with Hank's family, as well as fans from around the world.

January 1, 2007, 54 years after his untimely death, Hank Williams is still recognized not only in his hometown of Montgomery, but throughout the world. He lived and felt the material he wrote and left a testimonial of his life in the songs he created. Hank was a young man with talent beyond reach who gave the world more hit songs than any other country music star. His passion for music led him to become not only a musical genius, but his rare talent would go on to become an international legend and a cornerstone in the world of music.

The Hank Williams Memorial Foundation Montgomery was established to promote and protect the memory of this great songwriter and entertainer. The purpose is to keep his music in the hearts of country music fans worldwide.

In keeping Hank Williams' music and vast influence alive, we wholeheartedly support Internet Radio for its contribution to the music industry. One needs to understand the importance of Internet Radio. It is one of the most effective avenues we have for out-reach to the younger generation. It allows them to learn an important part of music and cultural history while at the same time allowing others the opportunity to recapture memories.

Best Regards,
Beth J. Birtley, Manager Hank Williams Museum 118 Commerce Street Montgomery, AL 36104
posted by savenetradio  # 8:34 AM  0 Comments

Wednesday, June 6, 2007 We Are Part of the Internet Generation - Family Junction

Family Junction is a band comprised of five childhood friends who decided that after college we were going to take on the American entrepreneurial spirit, work together and create music as a living, a job that is rewarding, but by no means is easy.

The decision by the Copyright Royalty Board to increase royalty rates would drastically restrict the outlets of expression for musiccreators and the outlets of diversity for music listeners. Artists, like us, should be compensated for their creative works - as it is extremely important to the way independent artists make a living - but not so much as to cause the death of internet radio. If the balance is disturbed, and the current status quo drastically changes, the diverse internet radio services will be forced to pay increased royalty rates that are so high (in many estimates, more than what some of these stations will generate in revenue), they will simply shut down. The internet radio stations Family Junction depend on for our businessmodel will not be able to afford to pay these extremely high royalties. Instead of artists worrying about generating income from royalty rates, they can forget about royalties altogether because there will be very few stations left who will play their songs.

As listeners of internet radio, we were able to find new and incredible influences from around the globe, and once we recorded our first Family Junction songs, we were able to have our music played to thousands of people across the United States; people who were eager to hear our music. By finding a niche crowd across the United States we were given the encouragement to continue following our dreams of writing and recording music.

Currently we have songs playing on college radio stations (many of which are web-only), and niche genre stations throughout the United States. As more and more people are able to record and distribute their own creative works, the outlets for promoting it are decreasing. The Family Junction sound may not ever make it onto mainstream terrestrial radio, however, we should not be restricted from the markets that will embrace and appreciate our creative works. We aim to create music for a specific crowd,,and these people listen to internet radio for the diversity of content they will find on it.

As musicians and music lovers, we want to keep the channels that connect our music to others. We are part of the internet generation. This is where we seek out and find new ideas for entertainment. We want to see artists live and thrive, and we want to support them through all their releases. Without internet radio, where do we, and other artists, connect with those we are seeking?

Love,
The Family
posted by savenetradio  # 10:01 AM  0 Comments

Friday, May 25, 2007 Let's Fix This Problem Once and For All - Randall Krause - Executive Director, Small Webcasters Community Initiative

For the past several weeks, SoundExchange has been been engaging in private negotiations with Webcasters for royalty rates and terms in lieu of those set by the Copyright Royalty Board on March 2, 2007. However, an extension of the Small Webcaster Settlement Act is also purportedly underway between SoundExchange and a select group of small Webcasters, as represented by attorney David Oxenford, at the behest of two key members of the House committee on Courts, the Internet, and Intellectual Property.

However, these negotiated settlements with SoundExchange may well have unintended legal ramifications. In particular, "blanket" license agreements issued by SoundExchange supposedly only cover the creative works of SoundExchange members. They would not completely relieve small Webcasters of their royalty obligations within the United States for the digital performance right in sound recordings pursuant to the Copyright Act.

Simply put, SoundExchange is only a designated collecting body for statutory licensees. Neither SoundExchange nor Royalty Logic can claim to represent the vast majority of recording artists and record labels -- that is, in the same fashion as ASCAP, BMI, SESAC in the case of musical works.

As a result, there is no guarantee that any license agreements dealt by SoundExchange will adequately remunerate non-SoundExchange recording artists and record labels (including members of RoyaltyLogic) as stipulated by Section 114 and Section 112 of the Copyright Act.

While SoundExchange itself is certainly welcome to extend the rates and terms of the Small Webcaster Settlement Act indefinitely, any such custom license agreements cannot faithfully perform the intended function of the original statutory license unless those same rates and terms are again codified into federal law and published within the Federal Register, (In fact, this was the exact reason that both SoundExchange and the Voice of Webcasters originally persuaded Congress to pass the Small Webcaster Amendments Act of 2002, rather than resorting to separate back-room deals).

The official Small Webcaster Settlement Act expired December 31, 2005. The fact remains that Congress was responsible for the passage of that originally legislation, and they should ultimately be held accountable for maintaining it. We cannot authorize SoundExchange to meddle with the intellectual property rights of thousands of record labels nationwide by drafting whimsical license agreements without appropriate government oversight. That is not only an injustice to small Webcasters, but it is a slap in the face of thousands of unsigned artists nationwide who must now trust SoundExchange exclusively to look out for their "best interests."

So long as the Copyright Royalty Board determination has been published in the Federal Register (as it was on May 1, 2007), then the Small Webcaster Settlement Act is officially annulled and loses all legal force and effect as a "compulsory license." Let's fix the problem once and for all by continuing to pressure Congress to pass the Internet Radio Equality Act, instead of resorting to dubious patchwork solutions.

Randall Krause is the Executive Director of the Small Webcaster Community Initiative
posted by savenetradio  # 11:50 AM  0 Comments

Monday, May 7, 2007 SONiA Goes to Washington to Save Net Radio - We Need Your Help! - SONiA

This week started off in Washington DC as I joined with Artists, Webcasters and others to try and get Congress to step in and Save Net Radio by passing the Internet Radio Equality Act.

Usually it shows up in a song when I have an issue I feel strongly about, but I felt it necessary to change my schedule around and be on the Hill this week after reading about the increase in Internet Royalty Fees that are coming due on July 15th through the CRB ruling that came down on March 2nd. NPR and Webcasters appealed the decision and were not even granted a hearing although the ruling was not clear as to what even constituted a channel. As a songwriter and Artist I truly appreciate what Sound Exchange and the RIAA and other Performance Right Organizations (including my own which is BMI) have been able to do over the years to make sure that my songs when played are actually credited to me and then a royalty is paid for them. All of these organizations as well as ASCAP and SESAC are there for the artists.

That said...... I truly feel that the proposed fees are going to be so significant that many webcasters will be forced out of business. I met with Broadcasters from around the country this week and NPR and all of them feel that these proposed increases will put many webcasters out of business immediately. Pandora, Live 365 and AOL music are the biggest ones and even they do not know how they would afford these fees.

Many of you reading this first found my music through the internet and I love knowing that no matter where you live if I do Radio and it is streamed or a venue does a webcast that you can join us. While I want and need to get paid, one large check does not make up for losing touch with you.

Please check out the site www.savenetradio.org and see how you can help keep us connected. Live 365 and Pandora also have information on their websites. The difference is that terrestrial broadcast radio plays between 50 and 100 artists in any given week, internet radio plays an average of 6400 artists a week and some up to 33,000 each week. This new freedom of music, this diversity and upward trend of music buying on the net is in my opinion the first step in democratizing the broadcasting network. This click gives you the opportunity to tell congress that you enjoy the right to hear more. The CRB ruling needs to be vacated and a reasonable percentage needs to be used when setting the new royalty rates so that it is fair to the artists while not bankrupting the broadcasters that are playing our music.

-Grammy-nominated Sonia Rutstein is the creator of Folk-Pop duo Disappear Fear
posted by savenetradio  # 12:14 PM  0 Comments

Monday, April 30, 2007 Will May 15th Bring the Sound of Silence? Laurie Joulie, Director - Roots Music Association

As I logged onto last Monday morning's press conference call, that was scheduled to announce the launch of the SaveNetRadio coalition, the word was being passed around that the Copyright Royalty Board had just announced that they were denying an appeal hearing with respect to their previous decision of March 2nd, 2007.

If you haven't heard by now the webcast royalty rate decision that the CRB accessed at the direct request of SoundExchange is set to directly threaten the viability and very existence of internet radio when it's implemented in less than one month.

Although hearing the decision was disappointing, it certainly wasn't unexpected because in reality the SaveNetRadio coalition was set up to address that potential outcome by developing an online hub of activity and initiatives designed to motivate and encourage consumers, webcasters and artists/labels to proactively lobby Congress.

We're now at the point where government intervention is the only likely recourse left to salvage the medium that has been responsible for revitalizing the independent, roots based music industry. The alternative option of a plea to the US Court of Appeals is a lengthy one and the reality is that once the royalty fees go into effect on May 15, 2007 most internet broadcasters will be forced to begin the process of shutting down their webcasts.

If you peruse this site, or the internet for that matter, you'll find vast statistical arguments and information as to why this decision is economically disastrous for the webcasting industry. You don't have to have a Master's degree in economics to grasp the logic that too much money out and not enough money in results in having to close your business. Webcasters are facing an increase in realm of 300-1200% in royalty fee payments to SoundExchange.

Imagine your bank telling you that next month instead of your usual $1000 payment you'll have to pay between $3000- $12,000, irregardless of what income you bring to your household and that in addition you’ll also have to pay this amount retroactive back to this time last year immediately. I would venture to say most of us would find ourselves homeless in very short order.

This decision has the very real potential to force the closure of a wide realm of online webcasting sources that have significantly impacted the growth and development of independent music across all genres. To lose this avenue of promotion and support for roots music would be devastating with respect not only to its financial impact on the industry, but to its cultural survival.

On any given day online listeners can traverse a rich, diverse landscape of music of roots based music that sadly has been diminished into near non-existence on terrestrial radio in favor of more lucrative, mainstream music that is designed specifically for its mass appeal.

Historically roots based music has been a series of niche based genres that have survived by being passed down from one generation to the next by the natural process of cross-generational familial and social perpetuation. Like it or not, the new norm of listening to music individually via new age technology has changed this dynamic and now traditional roots based music must be actively sought out and discovered. Ironically, the very industry that changed this dynamic is also responsible for giving us the music back. Internet webcasts are virtual goldmine for those looking for new and vibrant roots based music.

I've been struggling since last Monday morning's announcement to try and put my thoughts to paper, to somehow do my best to try and motivate the masses into action and impress on those who will read this just how important tit is that we make sure we speak up now, or like the proverbial marriage ceremony warning, 'forever hold your peace.'

Time has not been as affordable since that morning as I would have liked, and now you're reading this an entire week later than I intended and I realize that within the rationale for the lateness of this plea lies the reason why this issue is so imperative.

The Roots Music Association was formed approximately a year ago to assist the struggling roots music industry to find its voice and to help ensure its long term viability as it struggles to survive within a sea of mainstream, corporate competitiveness. The dramatic growth of the RMA was both heartwarming and overwhelming at the same time and on any given day I seem to work time and half just keeping up with the day to day calls and emails. What's become apparent over the past few months is not only have roots music artists embraced the idea of an international, multi-genre trade organization but all facets of the music industry and consumers have as well, which means I have very little free time on my hands these days. I consider that a very good thing.

Over the past few years in particular with the growth and natural development of the online broadcasting industry, roots music has found a home and in turn has seen a surge in its popularity, its exposure and its impact.

Sadly on May 15th we may once again lose what took us so many years to rediscover and recreate - a vital, thriving independent music scene that places value on creativity, innovativeness and originality. A place where music that stands out, fits in; a place where genres aren't segregated to one end of the dial or time slot but are played alongside of each other 24/7; a place where music's natural diversity is a strength not a barrier; a place where the playing field is level, welcoming and accessible for everyone.

Internet radio has opened up a world of new music to consumers who have in turn embraced it, supported it and made it once again financially viable, socially relevant and significantly accessible. Contrary to SoundExchange's insistence that the internet is taking away from artists what is rightfully theirs, it in reality has given it back - because what is justly inherent is music’s right to be heard, an artist’s right to have it heard, and the consumer's right to hear it.

The Roots Music Association is in no way asserting that any assignment of royalty fees are not applicable. Artists deserve to be compensated for their music but how can any royalty fees be paid if the proposed fees put stations out of business and the music is no longer played? Its elementary school math: less stations + less spins = less royalties. How can artists be paid if the only music being played by internet broadcasters after May 15th is that which was brokered by special deals made directly between the stations and labels, leaving the artists once again out of the equation and decision making?

The RMA strongly believes in making the roots music industry a viable one, for all. We believe in making the industry a fairer one, for all. We believe in making the promotional opportunities for artists to be diverse and affordable, for all.

So, here we are anxiously waiting for the calendar to turn to May 15th - a usually innoxiously benign date sitting in the midst of 364 others. I took a quick look at 'this date in history' and found the most interesting things to ever happened on that date were in 1902 when Portugal went bankrupt and in 1908 when Claude Monet decided to destroy some of his paintings because he decided they weren't "good enough."

Now - personally, I wasn't there in 1902 to give Portugal sound financial advice such as 'a penny saved, is a penny earned' and I also wasn't there in 1908 to beg Claude Monet to stop in his tracks and rethink his rampage, but I am here in 2007 and I am going to make sure I let the US Congress know that if they don't act now they are about to allow a broad based massacre of a thriving industry that has benefited many for the financial self interest of a few.

It is the independent music industry that made the internet broadcasting industry a success so early in its infancy. It's the independent artists, labels and its consumers that have supported the online stations that have helped the roots music industry's existence thrive and it's the very same group of people that need to be speaking up to have it continue. We need to send a message loud and clear to Congress that we demand the right to have choices, and that includes the choice of an artist to promote their music via online broadcasts with royalty rates accessed that are fair and equitable and that are designed to support all sectors of this industry, not annihilate it with one sweeping blow.

Don't let May 15th be marked by the sound of silence. Make your voice heard today.

Laurie Joulie Serves as Director of the Roots Music Association
posted by savenetradio  # 9:55 AM  0 Comments

Monday, April 23, 2007 SaveNetRadio - By Ian Rogers from Yahoo! Music

By now you've likely heard the news about the Copyright Board's ruling regarding net radio. Simply put, it approximately triples the amount paid to record labels via SoundExchange for streaming Internet radio over the next three years, changes the way the payments are computed (from what is called an "Aggregate Tuning Hour" basis to a straight "per play"), adds a confusing and onerous "per station minimum" fee with no maximum, and extends the new rates back to the beginning of 2006. Many small Webcasters won't be able to afford this, and you can bet large Webcasters like us are all taking a hard look at the Internet radio business and our products to decide if it's really worth the cost. Big companies might have more money, but they can't stay in businesses where they don't make any profit, a pretty simple business fact.

Compare the implications of this decision to terrestrial radio which pays NOTHING to SoundExchange, or even satellite radio which pays only 3-7% of their revenue to SoundExchange, and it's hard not to be left scratching your head. The irony of all this, of course, is that this ruling will keep LAUNCHcast, Pandora, and the like out of your living room and push you toward FM, where the labels are paid zero. This decision cuts off a genuine future revenue stream before it has had a chance to grow.

It's not just the Webcasters that will suffer. Higher costs, fewer Internet broadcasters and stations means less diversity overall, and less opportunity for the unlimited spectrum of Internet radio to become a discovery tool for curious listeners and a launching platform for smaller artists. Internet radio features thousands of channels in the narrowest of genres as well as personalized services (LAUNCHcast) and recommendation systems (Pandora), while FM radio (where it still plays music) plays the same songs over and over and the total number of satellite channels is less than five hundred. I am a satellite radio subscriber and can honestly say it doesn't even come close to representing the diversity I get from my personal LAUNCHcast station. Listeners and artists ultimately lose if this infinite spectrum of music choice evaporates or even shrinks to just a few players. The implications for innovation in the space are catastrophic.

Which is why we are asking you to take action RIGHT NOW. We are supporting DIMA (a trade organization representing Yahoo!, AOL, MTV, Pandora, Real, Live365, and many others) and the SAVE NET RADIO campaign on this issue. Please take five minutes right now to visit SaveNetRadio.org, let your representatives know how you feel about this issue, send this post and these links to a friend, and put a link to SaveNetRadio.org on your blog, MySpace page, or site. We are on a very tight timetable to get our voices heard in Washington and legislation introduced before May 15th when the first payment is due under this new ruling. We need your help in making sure Congress is paying attention to this issue.

Thanks for your understanding and support,
Ian C Rogers - Yahoo! Music
posted by savenetradio  # 7:17 AM  24 Comments