You may notice that some of your favorite web radio stations are silent today. It’s not a problem with their systems or yours, it’s a protest:
Many Web-based music services and some conventional radio stations that offer Internet audio streams are scheduled to shut off their online music and programming until midnight tonight. Organizers are calling it Day of Silence and are hoping it will focus attention on a royalty-fee increase that many Internet-based broadcasters say could drive them out of business.
The new rates are set to go into effect July 15, barring swift action from Congress.
Participants in the event include such online-only music services as Pandora, Live365 and Real Networks’ Rhapsody, as well as radio stations such as WAMU in Washington and KCRW, based in Santa Monica, Calif. One notable service sitting out the protest, according to organizers, is AOL Radio. A spokeswoman for AOL declined to comment.
Earlier this year, a three-judge oversight panel that is part of the Library of Congress followed the recommendations of a group created by the recording industry to increase online royalty fees when the old rates expire. The group, SoundExchange, distributes royalty payments for online broadcasts to musicians.
SoundExchange said the higher rates reflect the fact that CD sales are collapsing and that the recording industry needs to find new sources of revenue to survive. Although Internet radio stations say they’ve helped music lovers find new bands, resulting in more album and ticket sales, SoundExchange said the recording industry hasn’t seen the trend.
So, because the CD market is collapsing, the industry is trying to milk a still growing source of music:
Caryn G. Mathes, general manager at WAMU, said the new fees would exceed the revenue it brings in from an online bluegrass music station. “We would probably have to fold it,” she said.
Pandora might suspend operations if new fees go into effect.
“If we think the rates are not going to get fixed, we can’t go on spending money willy-nilly if we don’t believe in the business model,” said founder Tim Westergren.
Further evidence that the music industry is ruled by dinosaurs.
