Stop The Copyright Tribunal and RIAA From Shutting Down BBM Radio!

[Phillip Dampier]

On March 2, 2007, The CRB approved royalty rates that will bury any small webcaster, and create a heavy burden even for big broadcasters like Yahoo, AOL Music and Pandora. How high will these rates be? Around 100% of a small webcasters revenue, give or take a few points, in most cases. What?! That's impossible to pay! Yep, it sure is.

How did this happen? The RIAA told the CRB thats what they wanted, and the CRB just gave it to them.

You're probably thinking, hey that's awful, but who are the the RIAA and CRB?

RIAA (Recording Industry Association of America) is a lobbying group formed by the five largest record labels. They are embedded in Washington D.C. They make sure laws are written to keep them rich, no matter what. They made headlines a few years ago opening lawsuits against elderly people, single mothers and children for trading music online, even though some of them didn't even have computers. Check out the latest RIAA headlines.

The CRB (Copyright Royalty Board) is part of the US Copyright Office. The Board is charged with determining the royalty rates that would be determined by a willing buyer and a willing seller in a marketplace transaction. They decided to jack the rates beyond a broadcasters means despite decades of royalty rates being 1 - 2% of broadcaster revenue. Raise your right hand if you want to take away consumer choice, hurt working artists, damage small record labels and put small webcasters out of business.

For more information and to join the fight by signing an online petition and, more importantly, to e-mail or contact your elected officials (if within the United States), please visit: www.savenetradio.org

[Phillip Dampier]

Today, the Copyright Tribunal denied a motion to reconsider their new rate structure.  A last ditch effort being organized by savenetradio.org was launched today to try taking the matter to Congress.  Right now, it looks like the new rates will begin being collected in just under one month.  If the ruling stands, it will almost certainly wipe out Brokeback Mountain Radio along with Live 365 as a whole, and virtually all streaming public radio stations and independent web-only radio stations.

The minimum charge for a station like BBM Radio would rise from around $30 a month, which includes streaming and all royalties, to $500 a year JUST FOR ROYALTIES (not including streaming costs, etc.)  We guestimate we are now paying around $50 a year towards royalties with the rest going to cover streaming.  Worst of all, for a lot of stations these new payments are retroactive, meaning one would have to break out the checkbook and pay the new inflated rates already piling up.

Here is some more coverage: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070416/ap_on_hi_te/internet_radio_4

[injest]

sure seems like a case of cutting off their own noses to spite their faces. They (the companys and artists) SAY they want the webcasters to survive while they cut their legs out from under them!

[Sheriff Roland]

sure seems like a case of cutting off their own noses to spite their faces. They (the companys and artists) SAY they want the webcasters to survive while they cut their legs out from under them!

I agree - sounds a lot like the 1940's musician strike(s) that basically killed the big band era. After that, musician were no longer the big attraction ta selling music or attracting audiences - the big name artists became the singers instead a the band leaders.

[Phillip Dampier]

I am investigating taking Radio One and Two offshore should there actually be movement on this.  We have the capability of establishing a legal presence in Canada or another country for the purpose of radio streaming, and pay copyright royalties within the legal framework of those countries.