Save Net Radio

Posted by iancr, April 23, 2007 at 4:53 am, in LAUNCHcast Radio.

SaveNetRadio.org SaveNetRadio.org SaveNetRadio.org

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

5 Comments »

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  1. I was really disappointed by this ruling.

    If Internet radio shuts down then I’m just going to listen to my own Yahoo Unlimited Music.

    It will not drive me to FM or Satellite.

    Another suicide shot by the music industry.

    Comment by resource — April 23, 2007 #

  2. […] Save Net Radio Ian, as usual, says it much better than I can, but in a nutshell, the Copyright Board has proposed (much) higher rates for internet broadcasting of music that will put small broadcasters out of business and make larger netcasters reconsider their services as well. […]

    Pingback by Save Net Radio « thund3rbox — April 23, 2007 #

  3. […] Since the Copyright Royalty Board’s recent decision to deny a rehearing on the new royalty rates, there are only a few weeks left until May 15th when all Internet radio providers are required to start paying up. The latest word is that DIMA and the rest are going to hit up Congress full force. The new website for SaveNetRadio has been published and they had 280,000 letters sent to Congress in the first 3 days! And just recently, Yahoo and have started to publicly campaign with AOL airing a few PSAs on their streams. The front page of SHOUTcast has been updated and Pandora’s CEO sent an email to all their listeners last week. […]

    Pingback by Campaigns For Internet Radio — April 23, 2007 #

  4. I’m a broadcaster. And, there’s a few things
    the author here is not mentioning.

    First, terrestrial radio stations pay BMI, ASCAP,
    and SESAC hundreds of thousands of dollars every year to license the music featured on our stations for airplay.

    Many terrestrial radio stations are also streaming. Guess what? We’re not immune from the
    extreme rise in internet licensing fees, either.

    We’re not happy about it. It’s just that some radio companies are in better shape than others to absorb the costs of streaming. And, sadly, quite a few smaller radio companies will be forced to abandon streaming, due to this increase in costs.

    I think if you would ask terrestrial broadcasters, you’d find most of them would be
    of support to you. Trying to make terrestrial radio look like the enemy to promote an agenda for Satellite or Internet radio is disengenuous.

    Comment by KFodor — April 25, 2007 #

  5. Can you actually show some concern about this issue? Please. Follow Shoutcast.com’s example, because that’s how I found out about all this. Put a link for savenetradio.org at the top of your page, making sure to grab your customer’s attention.
    If you think this is important than use the power you have as a huge internet radio company.

    PLEASE!

    I know your company would not want to hand over millions of dollars on July 15, because, that is the path your company is heading on. There are plenty of your customers that don’t even know about what is going on and I can’t blame them since the LaunchCast web site makes it seem like everything is fine.

    Comment by peepsworld — May 17, 2007 #

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