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-- 00.7 LIVE Save Internet Radio --
"Has James Bond finally met his match?"
Even thought that line has been the tag line of many Bond films, it may finally be true. This station is brought to you via Internet Radio. But soon it might not be possible to do that. The bottome line is that record companies feel that they are being left out of the action... cash wise.
The Copyright Office wants Internet Radio broadcasters to pay royalties. This may not sound like a problem, but it is. The "recommended royalty rates are more then 200% of most Webcasters' gross revenue!" And that's for sites that generate revenue. 00.7 LIVE has never tried to and never will generate revenue. I run this station because I love doing it. But I would also be forced to pay the royalties. Just below, you can read what is really going on.
The following is a blurb from saveinternetradio.org:
"America's fledgling Internet radio industry could be effectively killed on May 21st if the Librarian of Congress (1) accepts the recommendations of its recent Copyright Arbitration Royalty Panel ("CARP") concerning Internet radio royalty rates and (2) sets impossibly-complex recordkeeping requirements.
Congress passed a law in October, 1998, called the Digital Millenium Copyright Act (DMCA) which established that webcasters must pay royalties to record labels for the music they play. However, the CARP's recommended royalty rates are currently more than 200% of most Webcasters' gross revenues!
If Copyright Office accepts the CARP's recommendation, most observers believe that the decision will effectively kill Internet radio, as the retroactively-owed fees would bankrupt all but the very largest Internet-only webcasters (and would probably trigger the shutdown of most broadcast stations' Web simulcasts, including almost all the educational and community stations )."
While it may sound that this is the end, let me remind you that this hasn't gone into effect yet. So, I'm asking for your help. As a listener of Internet Radio, you have as much at stake in this as the broadcasters. If this passes many station with just disappear, which is what the record companies want. Anyone remember Napster?
What I need you to do is contact your representatives in Congress.
The easiest way is right here. By clicking on this page you can fax all three of your representatives at the same time. It is a pre-written letter and all you need to enter is your name and address plus your nine digit zip code. If you don't know it don't worry. There is a link on that page to easily look it up. If you do nothing else, please atleast do this.
If you want to take a bit more action then you can email or mail your three representatives with a letter of your own or one of the 3 below(These letters come from saveinternetradio.org).
1500 words - Includes background on the intent of the DMCA
1000 words - Middle ground
600 words - Shorter and sweeter
You can find out who your three representatives in Congress are by going here and entering your zip code. It should load a page with the representatives and the president. Just click on the email below their name and then just cut and past the letters on to the email submission page. Don't forget to put their name at the top and your name at the bottom.
Even if you are outside the US you can still help. Below are links to the representatives in my state(California). You can help by voicing your opinions to them.
Sen. Feinstein
Sen. Boxer
Sen. Lofgren
If you are still reading this... THANK YOU. And if you'd like to take more action then I have one more way for you to help... contacting the Senate Judiciary Committe and the House Subcommittee on Courts and Intellectual Property.
Both of those pages will bring up a list of Committee Members. Look through it and see if your state is on any other them. If they are, email them. You can use the letters above.
All pages were created and designed by Jonathan O'Dell.
Copyrighted ©2002
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