Today is a day of silence for Internet radio broadcasters in protest of a recent rate hike of 0.012 cents per song, per listener, from the current rate of 0.007 cents. Organized by SaveNetRadio, most of the big online radio stations are joining in solidarity. One popular webcaster, Pandora, explains on its website: “We are doing this to bring to your attention a disastrous turn of events that threatens the existence of Pandora and all of internet radio. We need your help.”
Ignoring all rationality and responding only to the lobbying of the RIAA, an arbitration committee in Washington DC has drastically increased the licensing fees Internet radio sites must pay to stream songs. Pandora’s fees will triple, and are retroactive for eighteen months! Left unchanged by Congress, every day will be like today as internet radio sites start shutting down and the music dies.
The Geek, meanwhile, takes a different approach, allowing visitors to click the “listen live” button, only to give them 3 1/2 minutes of silence, the amount of time a pop tune might have played. (Actually, the loop of silence is interrupted a few times by a brief “station ID.”)
While many big-name websites are joining the SaveNetRadio effort, at least one biggie is not playing along. Last.fm, recently acquired by CBS, is not participating
Andrew Careaga 