Last month we reported that SoundExchange had killed off Internet radio by upping royalties to levels that cannot be sustained by any company. Pandora, the largest and most popular of current Internet radio companies, admitted that day that they are most likely going to have to shut down if the royalty charges are not lowered.
Yesterday we received an email from a Pandora representative which was very interesting and I will post in its entirety later in this article. In the email, the rep says that the RIAA and SoundExchange have come to their senses and are ready to agree to lower royalties to levels where an Internet company can survive and the trade groups can make the profit they want. It appears there is another roadblock however, one being brought forward by the traditional radio broadcasters, most notably Clear Channel Communications. The entire email as we received it:
Hi, it's Tim from Pandora;
After a yearlong negotiation, Pandora, SoundExchange and the RIAA are finally optimistic about reaching an agreement on royalties that would save Pandora and Internet radio. But just as we've gotten close, large traditional broadcast radio companies have launched a covert lobbying campaign to sabotage our progress.
Yesterday, Congressman Jay Inslee, and several co-sponsors, introduced legislation to give us the extra time we need but the National Association of Broadcasters (NAB), which represents radio broadcasters such as Clear Channel, has begun intensively pressuring lawmakers to kill the bill. We have just days to keep this from collapsing.
This is a blatant attempt by large radio companies to suffocate the webcasting industry that is just beginning to offer an alternative to their monopoly of the airwaves.
Please call your Congressperson right now and ask them to support H.R. 7084, the Webcaster Settlement Act of 2008 - and to not capitulate to pressure from the NAB. Congress is currently working extended hours, so even calls this evening and over the weekend should get answered.
If the phone is busy, please try again until you get through. These calls really do make a difference.
Representative Jerrold Nadler: 202-225-5635
Thanks so much for you ongoing support.
Tim
If you enjoy web radio as much as I do, you will make at least one phone call in support of H.R. 7084.
Hi, it's Tim from Pandora;
After a yearlong negotiation, Pandora, SoundExchange and the RIAA are finally optimistic about reaching an agreement on royalties that would save Pandora and Internet radio. But just as we've gotten close, large traditional broadcast radio companies have launched a covert lobbying campaign to sabotage our progress.
Yesterday, Congressman Jay Inslee, and several co-sponsors, introduced legislation to give us the extra time we need but the National Association of Broadcasters (NAB), which represents radio broadcasters such as Clear Channel, has begun intensively pressuring lawmakers to kill the bill. We have just days to keep this from collapsing.
This is a blatant attempt by large radio companies to suffocate the webcasting industry that is just beginning to offer an alternative to their monopoly of the airwaves.
Please call your Congressperson right now and ask them to support H.R. 7084, the Webcaster Settlement Act of 2008 - and to not capitulate to pressure from the NAB. Congress is currently working extended hours, so even calls this evening and over the weekend should get answered.
If the phone is busy, please try again until you get through. These calls really do make a difference.
Representative Jerrold Nadler: 202-225-5635
Thanks so much for you ongoing support.
Tim
If you enjoy web radio as much as I do, you will make at least one phone call in support of H.R. 7084.
