I wrote my congressmen about the recent webcasting royalties required by the Copyright Royalty Board. The royalty charges are on track to put my favorite Internet radio stations out of business — stations like Radio Paradise as well as NPR’s Internet radio. NPR is ready to fight this recent legislation… and I’m fully behind them.

To quote Bill Goldsmith of Radio Paradise:
“We are at a fork in the road. Down one path is a radio universe populated entirely by large corporations, who can either afford the legal firepower necessary to negotiate a reasonable settlement with the music industry (such as the satellite radio companies have done) or can afford to offer Internet radio as a ?loss leader? (as Yahoo and AOL do).

Down the other fork we are presented with a universe of choices, freely available to all, produced by people who truly love and value what they are doing – including user-programmed channels such as those offered by lala.com, ‘discovery’ channels such as those available at Pandora, and who knows what else in the coming years. None of those choices are viable under the new rate structure, and that would be a tremendous loss for all involved.We are at a fork in the road. Down one path is a radio universe populated entirely by large corporations, who can either afford the legal firepower necessary to negotiate a reasonable settlement with the music industry (such as the satellite radio companies have done) or can afford to offer Internet radio as a ‘loss leader’ (as Yahoo and AOL do).

Down the other fork we are presented with a universe of choices, freely available to all, produced by people who truly love and value what they are doing – including user-programmed channels such as those offered by lala.com, ‘discovery’ channels such as those available at Pandora, and who knows what else in the coming years. None of those choices are viable under the new rate structure, and that would be a tremendous loss for all involved.”

I wrote my congressmen about the issue… here’s the first response. Note the disclaimer…. yeah, I’m a little peon but hey, at least I tried. (Side Note: It was NOT sent from Jeff.Fortenberry@mail.house.gov)

Dear Friend:

Thank you for taking the time to contact my office.

I am honored to serve as your United States Congressman. Please know that I value your opinion and look forward to reviewing your concern. Should your inquiry request a response, and you included your name and address, I will reply via the United States Postal Service.

Thank you again for your comments. Your thoughts and ideas are extremely important to me as I work to represent you in the United States House of Representatives.

Sincerely

Jeff Fortenberry
Member of Congress

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DISCLAIMER
I cannot guarantee the integrity of the text of this letter unless it was sent to you directly from my Congressional e-mail account:
Jeff.Fortenberry@mail.house.gov. Thank you.
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