A couple of months ago, we talked about the threat to Internet Radio posed by the then-recent decision of the Copyright Royalty Board to impose huge, retroactive, increases on royalties paid by internet-based broadcasters.
Under the new scheme (which some think is yet another attempt to ensure that all media outlets remain under the control of corporate America), a tiny net-based operation averaging 100 listeners would have to pay over $15,000 a year in royalties. Those of you running blogs with 100 regular readers -- do your AdSense checks produce the over $1,000 a month necessary to make such a payment? No, of course they don't. But if you were a net broadcaster, that's what you'd have to pay for 100 listeners.
The newly-imposed rates amount to a 300 to 1200-fold increase for net broadcasters -- and are several times higher than what Satellite radio stations pay.
There's a bill pending in Congress to correct the situation. (A like bill was also introduced in the Senate.) The "Internet Radio Equality Act" would reduce the royalties paid by net broadcasters to the same rates as those paid by Sirius and XM Radio. This is a bipartisan effort -- House co-sponsors include a couple of dozen Republicans and, on the Senate side, John Kerry and Sam Brownback are among the co-sponsors.
Of the over 125 Representative co-sponsoring the bill, five are from Pennsylvania: Robert Brady (D, PA-1), Chaka Fattah (D, PA-2), Patrick Murphy (D, PA-8), Bill Shuster (R, PA-9), and Allyson Schwartz (D, PA-13).
If you live in one of the other 14 districts, please contact your Representative today and ask them to co-sponsor HR-2060. The new rates are set to go in effect on July 15 -- so your immediate action would be appreciated by music fans, and independent artists, everywhere around the world.
More information on the bill, and contact information for PA Representatives, after the jump.
Under the new scheme (which some think is yet another attempt to ensure that all media outlets remain under the control of corporate America), a tiny net-based operation averaging 100 listeners would have to pay over $15,000 a year in royalties. Those of you running blogs with 100 regular readers -- do your AdSense checks produce the over $1,000 a month necessary to make such a payment? No, of course they don't. But if you were a net broadcaster, that's what you'd have to pay for 100 listeners.
The newly-imposed rates amount to a 300 to 1200-fold increase for net broadcasters -- and are several times higher than what Satellite radio stations pay.
There's a bill pending in Congress to correct the situation. (A like bill was also introduced in the Senate.) The "Internet Radio Equality Act" would reduce the royalties paid by net broadcasters to the same rates as those paid by Sirius and XM Radio. This is a bipartisan effort -- House co-sponsors include a couple of dozen Republicans and, on the Senate side, John Kerry and Sam Brownback are among the co-sponsors.
Of the over 125 Representative co-sponsoring the bill, five are from Pennsylvania: Robert Brady (D, PA-1), Chaka Fattah (D, PA-2), Patrick Murphy (D, PA-8), Bill Shuster (R, PA-9), and Allyson Schwartz (D, PA-13).
If you live in one of the other 14 districts, please contact your Representative today and ask them to co-sponsor HR-2060. The new rates are set to go in effect on July 15 -- so your immediate action would be appreciated by music fans, and independent artists, everywhere around the world.
More information on the bill, and contact information for PA Representatives, after the jump.
Source: Radio and Internet Newsletter, 4/26/07
The Internet Radio Equality Act (H.R. 2060 in the House, S. 1353 in the Senate) was introduced by Representative Jay Inslee (D-WA) and now has 125+ cosponsors in the House and growing. This act, has five major provisions:
* Nullifies the recent decision of the CRB judges
* Changes the royalty rate-setting standard that applies to Internet radio royalty arbitrations in the future so that it is the same standard that applies to satellite radio royalty arbitrations -- the 801(b)(1) standard that balances the needs of copyright owners, copyright users, and the public (rather than "willing buyer / willing seller").
* Instructs future CRBs that the minimum annual royalty per service may be set no higher than $500.
* Establishes a "transitional" royalty rate, until the 2011-15 CRB hearing is held, of either .33 cents per listener hour, or 7.5% of annual revenues, as selected by the provider for that year. Those rates would be applied retroactively to January 1, 2006. (The logic behind this rate, incidentally, is an attempt to match the royalty rate that satellite radio pays for this royalty -- thus the name of the bill.)
* Expands the Copyright Act's Section 118 musical work license for noncommercial webcasters to enable noncomms to also perform sound recordings over Internet radio at royalty rates designed for noncommercial entities, and sets an transition royalty at 150% of the royalty amount paid by each webcaster in 2004.
* For future CRBs (e.g., 2011-15), adds three new reports in the CRB process: The Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Communications and Information will submit a report to the CRB judges on the industry impact in terms of competitiveness of the judges' proposed rates; at the same time, the FCC will submit a report to the CRB judges on the effects of the judges' proposed rates on localism, diversity of programming, and competitive barriers to entry; and the Corporation for Public Broadcasting will submit a report to Congress and the CRB judges on the effect of the the judges' proposed rates on their licencees.
Now that this act has been introduced, the call to action is specific and direct: Call and ask your Representative to "cosponsor the Internet Radio Equality Act."
Here's a list of the PA Representatives (followed by the DC phone and fax numbers) who have not yet co-sponsored the bill (click here to e-mail your Representative):
Phil English (R - 03)
P:202-225-5406 Fax:202-225-3103
Jason Altmire (D - 04)
P:202-225-2565 Fax:202-226-2274
John E. Peterson (R - 05)
P:202-225-5121 Fax:202-225-5796
Jim Gerlach (R - 06)
P:202-225-4315 Fax:202-225-8440
Joe Sestak (D - 07)
P:202-225-2011 Fax:202-226-0280
Christopher Carney (D - 10)
P:202-225-3731 Fax:202-225-9594
Paul E. Kanjorski (D - 11)
P:202-225-6511 Fax:202-225-0764
John P. Murtha (D - 12)
P:202-225-2065 Fax:202-225-5709
Michael F. Doyle (D - 14)
P:202-225-2135 Fax:202-225-3084
Charles W. Dent (R - 15)
P:202-225-6411 Fax:202-226-0778
Joseph R. Pitts (R - 16)
P:202-225-2411 Fax:202-225-2013
Tim Holden (D - 17)
P:202-225-5546 Fax:202-226-0996
Tim Murphy (R - 18)
P:202-225-2301 Fax:202-225-1844
Todd R. Platts (R - 19)
P:202-225-5836 Fax:202-226-1000
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