It's Not Over Yet...

Okay everybody...

Our actions may not have swayed the Copyright Royalty Board, but it did do something!

The US House of Representatives has introduced H.R. 2060, The Internet Radio Equality Act, to invalidate the Copyright Royalty Board's devastating decision and set Internet radio royalty rates equal to the reasonable rate that satellite radio pays. Please call your House Representative and urge them to sign on as a cosponsor of this important bill!

As many of you have heard, the US Copyright Royalty Board recently set new royalty rates that all webcasters must pay for the music they play. The rates as adopted are triple the current rates (even more for some webcasters) and will likely mean the long-term extinction of most Internet radio. While the royalty ruling will be appealed over the coming months, the immediate killer is that the new rates go into effect on July 15th and are retroactive to January 2006. Some webcasters are facing royalty bills that will immediately bankrupt them.

The Copyright Royalty Board quickly and casually dismissed the webcasters' request for a rehearing on April 16th, and at this point, the only thing that is going to stop a large swath of webcasters from going silent on July 15th is Congressional action.

Please visit :SaveNetRadio.org

Learn more about the situation, contact your Congressional representatives, sign the petition and find out what you can do to help save Internet radio.

Drop your Congressional Rep a line so that they support this bill, or we're toast.