Save Pandora
Jeff April 18th, 2007
So I dont usually do these sorts of things but I think it is really lame what our politicians are trying to do to music and the internet. The website it asks you to visit is actually really easy to send a message from. It takes about a minute to send an email and a fax to your states politicians. You can also print out a letter that all you need to do is sign and send in. Anyway, here is the text of the email that was sent out to all Pandora users:
Hi, it’s Tim from Pandora,
I’m writing today to ask for your help. The survival of Pandora and all of Internet radio is in jeopardy because of a recent decision by the Copyright Royalty Board in Washington, DC to almost triple the licensing fees for Internet radio sites like Pandora. The new royalty rates are irrationally high, more than four times what satellite radio pays, and broadcast radio doesn’t pay these at all. Left unchanged, these new royalties will kill every Internet radio site, including Pandora.
In response to these new and unfair fees, we have formed the SaveNetRadio Coalition, a group that includes listeners, artists, labels and webcasters. I hope that you will consider joining us.
Please sign our petition urging your Congressional representative to act to save Internet radio: http://capwiz.com/saveinternetradio/issues/alert/?alertid=9631541
Please feel free to forward this link/email to your friends - the more petitioners we can get, the better.
Understand that we are fully supportive of paying royalties to the artists whose music we play, and have done so since our inception. As a former touring musician myself, I’m no stranger to the challenges facing working musicians. The issue we have with the recent ruling is that it puts the cost of streaming far out of the range of ANY webcaster’s business potential.
I hope you’ll take just a few minutes to sign our petition - it WILL make a difference. As a young industry, we do not have the lobbying power of the RIAA. You, our listeners, are by far our biggest and most influential allies.
As always, and now more than ever, thank you for your support.
tim_signature.jpg
-Tim Westergren
(Pandora founder)
[EDIT]
Talk about a great turn around from Representative Adam Smith. It has been just a few hours since I sent in my email generated from the great tool above and below is a copy of what he said. And I agree with Tim, it is going to get VERY expensive…
April 18, 2007
Jeff Guthrie
6315 111th Avenue East
Puyallup, Washington 98372Dear Jeff,
Thank you for contacting me in regards to Internet radio and a
decision by the Copyright Royalty Board. I appreciate you taking
the time to share your thoughts with me on this issue.The Copyright Royalty Board was established in 2004 by the
Copyright Royalty Board and Distribution Reform Act. The board
is a panel of three Copyright Royalty Judges who determine rates
and terms for the copyright statutory licenses and make
determinations on the distribution of statutory license royalties
collected by the Copyright Office. The Copyright Royalty Judges
are full-time employees of the Library of Congress who are
appointed for six-year terms with an opportunity for
reappointment.As you may know, in 2002, the Recording Industry Association of
America and Internet radio stations negotiated a royalty agreement
which required that radio stations pay performers a percentage of
the station’s revenue. On March 2, 2007, the Copyright Royalty
Board announced that royalty rates will be changed from a
percentage of revenue to a per-song, per-listener fee. Under this
decision, stations will be charged $.0008 per song per listener for
2006 as the ruling is retroactive. The rates will then increase to
$.0011 for 2007, $.0014 for 2009, and $.0019 for 2010. These new
rates will be applied to Internet radio stations, digital music
stations, and traditional broadcast stations that also stream their
programs on the Internet.As a Member of Congress, I will closely examine this complex
issue. In the weeks and months that lie ahead, members of the
various House and Senate committees with jurisdiction on this
issue will be reviewing the implications of the Copyright Royalty
Board’s ruling.Please be assured that I understand the value of Internet radio.
During my time in Congress I have focused on protecting the
interests of consumers while working to make sure the federal
government doesn’t “rush to regulate,” and do harm to many
innovative technologies. Should any legislation be introduced
which addresses the royalty rates which Internet radio stations pay,
I will be sure to keep your thoughts in mind.Again, thank you for taking the time to share your thoughts with
me on this issue. Should you have any additional questions,
comments, or concerns, please don’t hesitate to contact me.
Sincerely,Adam Smith
Member of CongressIf you’d like to receive occasional e-mail updates from
Congressman Adam Smith, please click here -
http://www.house.gov/adamsmith/IMA/newsletter.shtml.
[EDIT] Murray finally responded today. (26th of April)
Dear Mr. Guthrie:
Thank you for contacting me regarding music royalty rates and how they affect Internet radio. I appreciate hearing from you on this issue.
As you know, the Copyright Royalty Board (CRB) issued a ruling on March 9, 2007 that established a new structure of rates to be paid by commercial and noncommercial Internet radio webcasters. For commercial Internet radio webcasters, the CRB did not include any exceptions for “small” webcasters, or webcasters with small audiences. The CRB reasoned that no party had presented any evidence that could be used to create a different rate structure for “large” and “small” webcasters. As a result, all webcasters, regardless of their listening audience, will be subject to the new rates.
This ruling will affect many people who enjoy and listen to Internet radio, and many groups are informing Congress how this decision will affect their lives. I support open access for all consumers to the Internet, as well as efforts that increase innovation and competition on the Internet.
It is very likely that this issue will come up for consideration in the 110th Congress in order to deal with many different aspects of the CRB’s decision. If legislation is introduced, it will likely be considered in the Judiciary Committee, which I do not sit on. Rest assured, should legislation on this issue come up for debate in the full Senate, I will keep your views in mind.
Sincerely,
Patty Murray
United States SenatorP.S. I’d like to invite you to receive Patty Murray’s Washington View, my weekly legislative update by e-mail. If you are interested in receiving my update, please sign up here: http://murray.senate.gov/updates.
