Chairman Berman and Congressman Coble,
Thank you for your attention to the mounting threat increased sound
recording royalty rates pose to our industry. Unfortunately, the "small"
commercial webcaster solution proposed by SoundExchange at your request
would be a temporary fix affecting only a small portion of the Internet
radio industry.
The hope of virtually every webcaster is to someday build a sustainable
business, just as the hope of virtually every musician is to receive radio
airplay, tour promotion, and to make a living playing music. Unfortunately,
any likelihood of small commercial webcasters realizing our hopes would be
crushed by SoundExchange’s proposed offer.
An extension of the terms of prior Small Webcasters Settlement Act
agreements would limit the revenue we could earn to $1.2 million and
penalize success, forcing us to pay hundreds of thousands of dollars in
retroactive royalties if we earned a single dollar more than the cap.
Frankly, this proposal is not a solution; it is a temporary delay of a
problem that requires an immediate and lasting solution, as offered by the
Internet Radio Equality Act. The next CRB review begins in 2009, and
without a substantial legislated change in the underlying CRB legal
standard, it may very well lead to a similar unworkable outcome.
It is, however, encouraging that SoundExchange has publicly acknowledged that
the recording royalty rates set by the CRB on March 2nd
are, in fact, too high for most webcasters to stay in business, grow and
succeed.
I hope you will explore this issue further through a committee
hearing, and that you will soon appreciate that the CRB rates are too high
for virtually ANY webcaster to survive.
Again, thank you for your time and attention. The date on which most of
Internet radio might be forced to shut down, July 15th, is fast approaching
and we appreciate your continued interest.
Sincerely,
Ken Dardis
Audiorealm.com
Austin, TX |
Courtney Delaney
OutboundMusic
Houston, TX |
Donnie Mowbray
181.FM
Waynesboro, VA |
Brandon Casci, Justin Savage
LoudCity
Boston, MA
|
Bill Goldsmith
Radio Paradise
Paradise, CA |
Joe Gallagher
MVYRadio
Martha’s Vineyard, MA |
Rusty Hodge, Elise Nordling
SomaFM
San Francisco, CA |
Craig Luecke
Rockland U.S.A. Radio Network
Washington, D.C. |
Dan Williams
Iron Will Radio
Crofton, MD |
Tim Westergren,
Joe Kennedy
Pandora
Oakland, CA |
J. Mikel Ellcessor
Executive Director
Radio for Milwaukee
Milwaukee, WI |
Michael Clark
Christmas Music 24/7
Woodbridge, VA |
N. Mark Lam
Live365
Foster City, CA |
"DJ Nose"
Number One Sound Radio
Alexandria, VA |
David Hill
pearadio.com
Charleston, SC |
Kurt Hanson
AccuRadio
Chicago, IL |
Joslyn Tillar,
Liz Opoka,
Eddie George,
Rob Bleetstein,
Mary McCann,
Jay Cumbie,
George Hiscock
RadioIO,
Tampa, FL |
Randall Krause
Executive Director
Small Webcaster
Community Initiative
Champaign, IL |
Ted Leibowitz
BAGeL Radio
San Francisco, CA |
Steve Newman
Rock.com
Los Angeles, CA |
Al Owen
Al Owen Dance Mix Show
New York, NY |
Val Starr
GotRadio
Sacramento, CA |
Rick White
Big R Radio
Seattle, WA |
Laura Clark
ShowBizRadio
Woodbridge, VA |
Chris Lindsey
Slackline Radio
Anchorage, AK
|
|
Jeff Falck
TexasOnlineRadio
Lake Dunlap, TX |
|
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