Don't think your calls and letters work? Well this time on Internet Radio they did!

[Robbien]

Internet radio stations do not have to go silent on Sunday. For a while at least internet webcasters have some breathing room.

Thanks so much everyone! Great news and Great job.

Internet radio broadcasters got an unexpected bit of good news from an unlikely source. During a Congressional roundtable initiated by Rep. Ed Markey (D-MA), SoundExchange executive director Jon Simson said that the licensing group will not enforce the new royalty scheme. Instead, the rate hikes will be postponed indefinitely while SoundExchange and the webcasters attempt to hammer out a more equitable rate schedule.

. . .

The specter of Congressional action in the form of the Internet Radio Equality Act of 2007, along with Rep. Markey's unexpected roundtable meeting, which fell under the aegis of the Small Business Subcommittee instead of the more copyright-friendly Judiciary Committee, apparently forced SoundExchange's hand.

Webcasters large and small are pleased with SoundExchange's change of heart, and one webcaster said that the outcry from fans of Internet radio was a major factor. "This is a direct result of lobbying pressure, so if anyone thinks their call didn't matter, it did," Pandora founder Tim Westergren told Wired blog Listening Post. "That's why this is happening."


Another source told Listening Post that the meeting resulted in an agreement that the Copyright Royalty Board's excessive per-channel administrative fees would not be applied. RealNetworks had said that those fees could have cost it over $200 million annually, about 10 times the total amount collected by SoundExchange for all of Internet radio during 2006.

In the wake of the meeting, webcasters and SoundExchange will work to hammer out an equitable deal, and Internet radio broadcasters will be able to stay online while negotiations continue. Talks could still go sour and the CRB, but that would result in an open invitation for Congress to pass legislation, which SoundExchange wants to avoid.

http://arstechnica.com/news.ars/post/20070713-soundexchange-offers-temporary-reprieve-on-net-radio-royalty-increase.html

[MalloyLiberal]

1. Don't be fooled, when you think everything is great...

When you're not looking they will ram it through and Internet radio will be gone forever.

[Robbien]

3. Oh come on. Wins against corporate elite are rare. At least rejoice

in the ones we get.

No one believes this reprieve is permanent. At least now there is a way forward.

[and-justice-for-all]

2. I would not go offline anyway...

...Regardless of what they come up with, I am not going off line. I make not profit from my station, so sound exchange can all kiss my ass.

[Robbien]

4. The old rules stated that even if you make no money at all, you had to pay

If you had a station free of charge to everyone, you still would have to pay royalties and stations fees.

That is what this whole thing was about. The fight is to get a royalties and fee structure based on revenue.

[slank]

5. good, but won't last

Washington & Corporations are nothing but evil, corrupt, greedy psychopaths.

Some of them are worse than uncaring callous psychopaths, the are sadists who actually enjoy inflicting pain & suffering on American citizens & everyone else around the globe.

Honestly, they aren't even human,
they are vile monsters.

[HCE SuiGeneris]

6. I love Pandora. Good news indeed. n/t