Broadcasters still have not been able to reach agreement with SoundExchange over an acceptable performance royalty rate for Internet radio. Fortunately, our supporters in Congress are getting frustrated by the slow pace of negotiations and are finally taking action.
This Thursday, May 15th, Senator Sam Brownback will be offering an amendment to include the Internet Radio Equality Act (IREA) provisions into legislation being considered by the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee. IREA was a bill introduced last year to cap royalties at 7.5% of Internet radio revenues.
A fair and reasonable royalty rate is needed now more than ever. 6,000 small webcasters are streaming hundreds of diverse musical artists and genres that simply can’t be heard on AM/FM dials. and are the lifeblood for artists and indie labels helping to keep America’s music scene alive and vibrant.
But unless the royalty rate is lowered to the same rate as other radio media, they will always be at a competitive disadvantage with higher costs and fewer listeners.
They need your help to support the IREA bill. Your U.S. Senator is a member of the Judiciary Committee, so please take a minute and go to www.savenetradio.org to fire off a quick email or phone call to your Senator. Unless we all raise our voices, the corporate greed of major labels will triumph over small webcasters that broadcast diverse musical genres and talent.
Help protect Internet radio for small webcasters, and for listeners that like a diverse choice of music to listen to!
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