SAVENETRADIO.ORG - A UNITED EFFORT TO SAVE WEBCASTING FOR ALL

[vsa]

The SaveNetRadio Coalition at:  http://www.SaveNetRadio.org

With less than 30 days to go before the CRB music copyright fees come due May 15th, small, medium and large webcasters have united with artists, small record labels and millions of listeners in an effort to save Internet radio. 

"The future of Internet radio is in immediate danger.  The Copyright Royalty Board in Washington, DC has more than tripled the royalty rates for webcasters and left unchanged they will kill Internet radio.  These exorbitant rates go into effect on May 15 (retroactive to Jan 1, 2006!).  Without Congressional action the majority of webcasters will go bankrupt and silent on this date."

Spread the word about this website. Banners and recorded announcements are there for your use.

This is a time for everyone who streams music on the Internet to put aside differences and work together to save webcasting. SoundExchange and the RIAA would love nothing more than to see the effort splintered into squabbling factions. It's unite or have no chance for survival.

I remember the last round that webcasters weathered in 2002. Many hobbyists accused a group of small webcasters, who helped to secure passage of the Small Webcaster Settlement Act of 2002, of selling out their smaller bretheren. Not true. That law enabled Live365 to survive and made Loud City and all of their very small webcaster streams possible. Thousands of webcasters of every size were able to continue in operation or to come online for the very first time. Some complained about having to pay any music copyright fees at all. Well, complaining is very easy. Getting Congress to act is tough work. It's time for a united effort to get into the trenches and fight to survive. Now is the time! If you truly care about Internet radio, there is no time for anything else.

 

[oaktree]

Well said.

Find out the evil doings of Sound Exchange and why this will be debilitating to webcasters of all sizes in the "CRB Denies Rehearing" thread.

We're talking BILLION$ of $$$ just to this group, with no assessment of how the "royalties" get paid to labels or artists.

It's an important time...before "The Day The Music Dies" on May 15th.

 

[vsa]

Oaktree wrote: "...no assessment of how the "royalties" get paid to labels or artists..."

How about this for a shocker. The most shocking part comes at the very end, so follow me.

Under the law, the RIAA can bypass SoundExchange. As a group, they can offer direct deals to music streamers. Why on Earth would these copyright holders do this? Well, let's say they offer a discount down to 60 percent of the full rate. Under the law, since SoundExchange would be bypassed, artists and backup musicians could get zip. Nada. Nothing! Meanwhile, instead of the RIAA copyright holders getting only 50 percent of the royalty pie, the'd get to keep all of the money PLUS an extra 10 percent over what the law calls for. Legally.

Now here's the kicker. The RIAA could legally add a stipulation that, to qualify for the deal, the streamer would be obligated to play an X number of spins per week from a list of their new music. That's right. A legal form of payola. But instead of the record companies shelling out cash or gifts for music spins, they could offer royalty DISCOUNTS in exchange for music spins!

It's the new payola. Collect all of the royalties and have full promotional control of the music played on the Internet. Openly and legally.

 

[oaktree]

Wow! Awesome thought. Legal payola with no one to stop them...and no obligation to split the money in any way! WooHoo!

What an industry! Such a deal!!!

 

[captex]

i think the music industry screwded up big time and will suffer. people like me will be go back to cd's i have for a long time and tapes. i done this before enternet radio came on. no bland terrestrial radio.

 

[FightingIrish]

Yep, Soma.FM's founder coined this phrase.

And to be honest, I wouldn't be surprised if the recording industry tried this. Very scary.

http://www.eastbayexpress.com/2007-04-18/music/the-age-of-dark-payola

 

[vsa]

Here's the latest example of SoundExchange and the RIAA moving forward with their goal to divide streamers and defeat them:

"SoundExchange, which collects and distributes music royalties paid by Internet broadcasters, said today that it is in discussions with some commercial and noncommercial webcasters to explore "mutually beneficial business arrangements that help to foster growth of Internet radio and provide fair compensation to creators of music." SoundExchange didn't name the webcasters it has been in talks with but said it is willing to speak with additional streamers in the future..."

http://www.radioandrecords.com/RRWebSite/

Don't buy into the PR move. It is designed to create a sense of doubt and distrust among streamers large, medium and small. Don't fall for it! I hope you can see what broadcasters and webcasters who stream are up against.

The Save Net Radio Coalition is pushing Congress to come up with a bill that will fix this problem - a bill ALL of us can support. This is not the time to panic and grab for a temporary solution that will leave you in the same or even worse boat in 3 years. This is the time to motivate listeners to action - to pressure their federal representatives in Congress.

 

[dbdigital]

Here's the latest example of SoundExchange and the RIAA moving forward with their goal to divide streamers and defeat them:

"SoundExchange, which collects and distributes music royalties paid by Internet broadcasters, said today that it is in discussions with some commercial and noncommercial webcasters to explore "mutually beneficial business arrangements that help to foster growth of Internet radio and provide fair compensation to creators of music." SoundExchange didn't name the webcasters it has been in talks with but said it is willing to speak with additional streamers in the future..."

http://www.radioandrecords.com/RRWebSite/

Don't buy into the PR move. It is designed to create a sense of doubt and distrust among streamers large, medium and small. Don't fall for it! I hope you can see what broadcasters and webcasters who stream are up against.

The Save Net Radio Coalition is pushing Congress to come up with a bill that will fix this problem - a bill ALL of us can support. This is not the time to panic and grab for a temporary solution that will leave you in the same or even worse boat in 3 years. This is the time to motivate listeners to action - to pressure their federal representatives in Congress.

I don't know why this reminds me of paying protection to the mob in order to do business in a certain neighborhood. It's either negotiate or have your legs broken.

Normally the government would label this extortion and racketeering and prosecute accordingly but in SoundExchange's case they have its blessing.

db

 

[jcolletta275]

I don't know why this reminds me of paying protection to the mob in order to do business in a certain neighborhood.

I know why. It's because that's exactly what this is.

 

[vsa]

RAIN's Kurt Hanson is proposing: "Day of Silence 2007" on May 8th.

"I'd like to propose the idea that webcasters coordinate a "Day of Silence" on Tuesday, May 8th — combined with a request to our listeners to use the silent time on that day to write their Congressional representatives and favorite journalists about their concerns. Why do I recommend this approach as opposed to [only taking] other less-dramatic actions like more banners and PSAs? Because a "Day of Silence" is a news story..."

He's seeking comments and suggestions from all streamers of all sizes in this united effort.

http://www.kurthanson.com/archive/news/042007/index.shtml

I support the idea and the date!

 

[jcolletta275]

I've created a Facebook event called "Turn Off The Music," targetted toward music consumers more than broadcasters. With it I'm encouraging everyone to refrain from buying music (both CD's and online), listening to the radio or online streams and using that time to write their representatives in Congress as well as writing the CRB. It's a week-long boycott of the record industry, running from May 13th through the 19th.

 

[dbdigital]

I don't know why this reminds me of paying protection to the mob in order to do business in a certain neighborhood.

I know why. It's because that's exactly what this is.

Ah, that explains it. Thanks.

As Kurt Hanson suspects, these negotiations on the part of SoundExchange is nothing more than a smokescreen, a tactic to dissuade Congress from looking into the issue of the royalty rates hikes. It's as if they are saying, "we can solve this on our own. We don't need Congress to investigate." But as Kurt realistically points out there's no guarentee that the negotiations will amount to anything or that an agreement can be hammered out by May 15.

This is a fight that needs to go to a higher forum. Thankfully, in Congress there are several members who are web radio savvy, unlike the three clueless lawyers who sit on the CRB (hear no evil, speak no evil, see no evil).

db

 

[RadioStarOne]

I don't buy CD's, I don't buy DVD's why because they are all so overpriced! But If I could buy them for what they are really worth and sell them for what these companies think they are worth I'd be a billionaire!

 

[jcolletta275]

I don't know why this reminds me of paying protection to the mob in order to do business in a certain neighborhood.

I know why. It's because that's exactly what this is.

Ah, that explains it. Thanks.

No problem, any time! ;D

 

[MHVRadiofan]

I have no problem with artists getting fair compensation for their work. Broadcaster pay these fees because they use the music to make money, so this is fair .However, The Copyright Royalty Board in Washington, DC has more than tripled the royalty rates for webcasters. This is not just compensation but pure greed. I went to the web site http://www.savenetradio.org/ and sent a letter to my representatives. I don't think many people are aware of this issue. So I decided to post a message on my local board to help get the word out to those that don't read this board.

 

[SUPERCASTER]

I have no problem with artists getting fair compensation for their work. Broadcaster pay these fees because they use the music to make money, so this is fair .However, The Copyright Royalty Board in Washington, DC has more than tripled the royalty rates for webcasters. This is not just compensation but pure greed. I went to the web site http://www.savenetradio.org/ and sent a letter to my representatives. I don't think many people are aware of this issue. So I decided to post a message on my local board to help get the word out to those that don't read this board.

Over the air broadcasters pay NOTHING to Sound Exchange, the artists or the record labels. They are "grandfathered" in for free.
They pay only ASCAP, BMI, SESAC, songwriters royalties.

 

[MHVRadiofan]

Over the air broadcasters pay NOTHING to Sound Exchange, the artists or the record labels. They are "grandfathered" in for free.
They pay only ASCAP, BMI, SESAC, songwriters royalties.

Ok, please educate me I didn't realize there was a difference. What is the Sound Exchange and who do they represent. Is it artists that don't belong to ASCAP or BMI? Why did they exempt broadcasters?

 

[vsa]

Over the air broadcasters pay NOTHING to Sound Exchange, the artists or the record labels. They are "grandfathered" in for free.
They pay only ASCAP, BMI, SESAC, songwriters royalties.

Ok, please educate me I didn't realize there was a difference. What is the Sound Exchange and who do they represent. Is it artists that don't belong to ASCAP or BMI? Why did they exempt broadcasters?

(1) SoundExchange is a creation of the RIAA. It collects royalties for copyright holders of music recordings or performances, almost always being the record companies. Fifty percent of the fee goes to the copyright holder. 45 percent goes to the main performer or musical group. 5 percent goes to backup musicians. If a deal is done directly with the RIAA, bypassing SoundExchange, the RIAA record companies can keep 100 percent of the collected money. Performers get nothing! Legally!

(2) ASCAP, BMI and SESAC collect royalties for songwriters and publishers for the underlying compositions.

AM/FM/HD broadcasters pay only to #2 for over-the-air broadcasting.

AM/FM/HD broadcasters, webcasters, satcasters, cablecasters and cell phone casters - all who otherwise stream music digitally - pay #1 and #2.

To this second group, it is legal for the RIAA to offer direct licensing deals for music performances at a discount. The discount price can include a requirement to play songs being pushed by the RIAA record companies. It's known as the new legal PAYOLA! They longer have to pay payola money. Why will streamers put up with this? The new rates are ridiculously high. They'll be forced to do it to stay in business. The RIAA can offer discounts to get the desired results. Your representatives in Congress should be told about this ASAP.