Urban Unrest

25 June 2007 | Programming | Ernesto Aguilar

Pacifica Radio, America’s first listener-sponsored radio network, will join thousands of U.S. webcasters in a Day of Silence this Tuesday, June 26. Pacifica will silence its regular Internet broadcasts to draw attention to an impending royalty rate increase that, if implemented, would lead to the virtual shutdown of this country’s Internet radio industry.

A recent Copyright Royalty Board (CRB) decision increases royalties that commercial Internet webcasters pay to play music by up to 1200%. The new rates take effect on July 15. Non-commercial stations will be required to pay royalties at the commercial rate for any listeners they have over a limit defined by the CRB, about 215 listeners per hour.

The CRB decision also requires that webcasters pay a minimum $500 “administrative fee” for every channel they broadcast online, without clearly defining what a channel is, or what the fees are to be used for. These arbitrary and vaguely defined “administrative fees” would cost Pacifica stations thousands of dollars a year.

Pacifica urges listeners to contact their Congressional representatives and ask that they take action to save Internet radio. The Internet Radio Equality Act, H.R. 2060, has been introduced by Representatives Jay Inslee (D-Wash.) and Don Manzullo (R-Ill.) to address many of the problems with the CRB decision. A companion bill, S.B. 1353, has been introduced in the Senate.

To learn more about how the royalty hikes will affect Pacifica Radio stations, as well as how to contact Congressional Representatives, visit freepress.net/netradio/.

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