Internet Radio Needs To Pay More To Stay On The Air? Yeah, Right. (Poll)

All,

I program a web radio station called Altrok Radio, and by that I mean it's a fully licensed Internet radio station.  This means we pay money to keep our station in full compliance with current royalty policies as required by ASCAP, BMI, SESAC, and the SoundExchange license required by the CARP recommendations made necessary by the DMCA.

That's a lot of acronyms, but the upshot is that we pay a larger share of royalties on the music we play than any other outlet.

But apparently, the music industry doesn't think it's enough; they'd rather charge enough to put me, and most other Internet Broadcasters, out of business.  More below...

Let's be clear - we are paying those royalties, rather than run an unlicensed stream.  We do it because we believe in the artists we play, we feel they should be compensated fairly for their efforts, and we want to be around a while so that we can continue to do that for them.

We believe, however, that it's unfair that, at a far lower (and in fact relatively non-existent) level of income, we pay more per song played than standard radio does - a state of affairs that fully highlights the fact that major labels and terrestrial broadcasters have lobbied hard to get laws passed that try to make Internet radio disappear.

Internet radio also has been forced to comply with programming rules that don't apply to traditional radio stations - even if they are available on the Internet.

And now it appears there are moves afoot by the music and radio industries to make it even harder and more expensive to broadcast on the Internet - a typical reaction from two symbiotic industries that see their market share and their power dwindling, in no small part due to the efforts of thousands of Internet radio stations that circumvent their hegemony.

It's time for Internet Broadcasters, their Listeners, and the Artists who've found new audiences in this newly-created turf, to stand up and say "Enough!".  We are completely in support of any effort that attempts to fix the second-class regulatory status that plagues Internet radio.

We hope you can help.  We'll have details as they become available, but as the landscape of new machinations unfolds, it's becoming clear that it'll be an uphill battle.

In the meantime, listen to your favorite Internet radio station as much as you can, and let them know you're there - they'll likely keep a record of your note of support, and it might come in handy when it comes time to defend their existence.

If you haven't tried Internet Radio, perhaps now's the time.  (Here's a link to our alterna-indie-new-wave-punk-etc. station - hope you like it.)

In any case, tell your friends to tune in as well, and join the fight.  We're trying to make a difference - the alternative is that every outlet that does this may, someday soon, go silent.

-Sean
 Altrok Radio at http://www.altrokradio.com