Save Online Radio!!!
I listen to online radio stations quite a bit. My favorite is http://www.boomerradio.com which caters to baby boomers.
However, recently enacted legislation threatens to kill off webcasters. As of May 16th, webcasters will have to pay sharply higher royalties retroactive to Jan 1st 2006. Currently, webcasters pay the same rates as broadcast radio. The new law will force them to pay 3 - 12 times what they are currently paying. Most webcasters play far more public service announcements than commercial ads, and cannot possibly generate enough income to pay the increased royalties. The fact that the higher rates will be retroactive for 16.5 months will mean that most if not all of these stations will be forced into bankruptcy and go silent as of May 16th.
While higher royalties to artists sounds like a good thing, if the webcasters go silent, there will be NO royalties. This will particularly affect new emerging acts and old retired acts no longer played much on broadcast radio. Furthermore, it will deprive them of royalties from CD and online track purchases from webcast listeners.
At its core, this legislation is anti-competitive and only helps the conglomerates like Clear Channel further control what you can listen to. If you want to sign a petition and send messages to your legislators asking them to stop this legislation from going into effect, please visit this site:
http://www.SaveNetRadio.com
Thanks!
However, recently enacted legislation threatens to kill off webcasters. As of May 16th, webcasters will have to pay sharply higher royalties retroactive to Jan 1st 2006. Currently, webcasters pay the same rates as broadcast radio. The new law will force them to pay 3 - 12 times what they are currently paying. Most webcasters play far more public service announcements than commercial ads, and cannot possibly generate enough income to pay the increased royalties. The fact that the higher rates will be retroactive for 16.5 months will mean that most if not all of these stations will be forced into bankruptcy and go silent as of May 16th.
While higher royalties to artists sounds like a good thing, if the webcasters go silent, there will be NO royalties. This will particularly affect new emerging acts and old retired acts no longer played much on broadcast radio. Furthermore, it will deprive them of royalties from CD and online track purchases from webcast listeners.
At its core, this legislation is anti-competitive and only helps the conglomerates like Clear Channel further control what you can listen to. If you want to sign a petition and send messages to your legislators asking them to stop this legislation from going into effect, please visit this site:
http://www.SaveNetRadio.com
Thanks!