Opposition to Copyright Royalty Board's decision on webcasting rates
Petition published by Independent Small Webcasters and their listeners on Dec 27, 2015
5472 Signatures
Target: United States Congress
Region: GLOBAL
Sign the petition
Sponsor
Petition Background (Preamble):
The Copyright Royalty Board has handed down a decision after meeting behind closed doors with Pandora and coming to an agreement in reference to royalty rate increases ( http://www.loc.gov/crb/web-iv/amended-web-iv-terms.pdf ) that literally cripples any small webcaster anywhere in the United States of America !
In this agreement it states that the rate is $0.17 per 100 songs , per listener , raising rates so high that it makes it unaffordable by any broadcaster anywhere.
While this bill HR1733 is good to force terrestrial radio to finally pay royalties which they had never done since the beginning of internet broadcasting, the original " Small Webcaster Settlement Act " ( SWSA ) has been eliminated making no provision whatsoever for hobbyist broadcasters who have no revenue to pay the outlandish fee's that would be incurred upon them by the elimination of this agreement.
It also creates a monopoly which according to US law has been deemed illegal in the United States of America , allowing only major corporations like Pandora and iHeart Radio to control what is being heard on the internet.
For years, small webcasters have been paying royalty fee's when terrestrial was not! And as a thank you for all the years of trying to do what was right , to be lawful and pay royalties that artists worldwide have worked so hard for and deserve, the Copyright Royalty Board has decided only the wealthy should be allowed to broadcast, thus ending small broadcasters tiny businesses all over the USA.
Finally, this bill does not only affect the small broadcaster , but affects many businesses that small webcasters have supported as well thus eliminating literally MILLIONS of dollars of spending in business such as :
* Streaming Servers
* Chatrooms and servers
* Messengers
* Communities and servers
* Games
* Webhosting and servers
* Banner Hosting services and many other services !
For years small broadcasters have been paying licensing fee's to stay legal on the internet, paying dues in appreciation for the hobby they so love. They have all had a dream of one day climbing that ladder to make a name for themselves, to achieve success. Some didn't have that dream, they just wanted to enjoy what they loved to do. Now that dream has been stomped on, spat on, and kicked to the curb by the very people we entrust to treat us fairly. It's shameful , unjust and should be considered criminal because of the results of this decision being made.
It should not be allowed.
Petition:
We the undersigned oppose the decision of The Copyright Royalty Board to not include a provision such as the Small Webcaster's Settlement Act of 2002 which allows for small webcasters to have the ability to pay affordable royalty rate fee's.
The rates set are totally unfair to those who do not have the revenue such as the larger broadcasters like Pandora and iHeart.
We the undersigned ask that a provision be included in this decision so that thousands of small webcasters and their listeners and services they do business with may continue to enjoy the music and environment they have created and not be crippled by the Fair Play , Fair Pay bill , as it is not fair at all!
Sign the petition
The Opposition to Copyright Royalty Board's decision on webcasting rates petition to United States Congress was written by Independent Small Webcasters and their listeners and is in the category Media Issues at GoPetition. Contact author here. Petition tags: internet radio, broadcasting, royalty rate, copyright, copright royalty board, disc jockey, entertainment, dj, radio
http://www.gopetition.com/petitions/opp ... -1733.html
Seventeen sweet years ago, it was something of a revolution to let
anyone launch their own station. Anyone with something to say or play.
Live365 provided the tools. Their talent brought the audience.
We were one of the first. Happy we are not the last.
The spirit of 300+ employees over the years, our hundred thousand
webcasters, and their hundred million dedicated listeners lives on.
THANK YOU for being here.
Spread the word:
PurePlay Radio
...and many others who have requested anonymity so they don’t get
listeners they can no longer afford. ;-(
http://www.live365.com/
Live365 is Dead, Long Live RadioLulu
Huffington Post-Jan 27, 2016
In 2002, I was able to turn my fantasy into reality thanks to Live365.com, the streaming radio service provider. A pioneer in the field since 1999, ...
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/thomas-gl ... ertainment
Tough Month for Streaming: iTunes Radio and…
About - News & Issues-Jan 30, 2016
Two respectable streaming sources announced their demise this month: Apple's iTunes Radio and Live365.com. The free version of iTunes ...
http://radio.about.com/od/createinterne ... -Plugs.htm
Shoreworld: New Royalty Rates Forces BlowUpRadio.com To Shut ...
Aquarian Weekly-Jan 20, 2016
Then he saw an email post about live365.com. “It was great. They host internet radio shows for free and give you instructions on how to load the ...
http://www.theaquarian.com/2016/01/20/s ... -on-feb-1/
Live365 Announces Downsizing In Wake of CRB Decision
All Access Music Group-Dec 29, 2015
... are reluctant to take a chance on. It would be a great loss for this to all go away.” Inquiries may be sent to the company at pr@live365.com.
http://www.allaccess.com/net-news/archi ... crb-decisi
The Return of Multicast: Why it Succeeds in a Live Linear World
StreamingMedia.com-Jan 20, 2016
I had been streaming audio, mainly using a little hack in Live365.com's service to get free CDN services, then more professionally using ...
http://www.streamingmedia.com/Articles/ ... 08621.aspx
The Death of Internet Radio
New Jersey Stage-Jan 21, 2016
Over 5,000 stations on live365.com are forced to shut down at the end of January and that's only the tip of the iceberg. It's not that these stations ...
http://www.newjerseystage.com/articles/ ... hp?ID=6712