I rarely get up on my soapbox about anything, but I recently learned that the Copyright Royalty Board announced new licensing fees for Internet radio stations that will make it extremely hard for most Internet radio stations to continue operating. According to SomaFM, my favorite station, their fees will increase from $20,000 a year to over $1 million, plus back fees to cover 2006!
As there's a dearth of actual alt/indie rock stations in my area (and in the country in general, I feel) I rely on internet radio to discover new music. I listen to it every day at work and I've blogged about it several times on here. I'd be extremely sad if they were forced to be shut down.
So what can you do? Save Our Internet Radio has a list of suggested actions. I signed the petition and sent emails to my congressmen. Also make sure to support your favorite listener-supported Internet radio station. I made a donation to SomaFM this week.
Ok, PSA over.
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