Small Webcasters Decry SoundExchange Offer

Small Webcasters Decry SoundExchange Offer

Temporary Fix for Few Disappoints All

WASHINGTON, May 25 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Today, in response to a May 21st "proposal" made by SoundExchage to small commercial webcasters at the behest of Chairman Berman and Congressman Coble, the following letter was sent to the Judiciary Committee of the U.S. House of Representatives.

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            Courtney Delaney               Donnie Mowbray   Audiorealm.com        OutboundMusic                  181.FM   Austin, TX            Houston, TX                    Waynesboro, VA    Brandon Casci,        Bill Goldsmith                 Joe Gallagher   Justin Savage         Radio Paradise                 MVYRadio   LoudCity              Paradise, CA                   Martha's Vineyard, MA   Boston, MA    Rusty Hodge,          Craig Luecke                   Dan Williams   Elise Nordling        Rockland U.S.A. Radio Network  Iron Will Radio   SomaFM                Washington, D.C.               Crofton, MD   San Francisco, CA    Tim Westergren,       J. Mikel Ellcessor             Michael Clark   Joe Kennedy           Executive Director             Christmas Music 24/7   Pandora               Radio for Milwaukee            Woodbridge, VA   Oakland, CA           Milwaukee, WI    N. Mark Lam           "DJ Nose"                      David Hill   Live365               Number One Sound Radio         pearadio.com   Foster City, CA       Alexandria, VA                 Charleston, SC    Kurt Hanson           Joslyn Tillar,                 Randall Krause   AccuRadio             Liz Opoka,                     Executive Director   Chicago, IL           Eddie George,                  Small Webcaster                         Rob Bleetstein,                Community Initiative                         Mary McCann,                   Champaign, IL                         Jay Cumbie,                         George Hiscock                         RadioIO, Tampa, FL    Ted Leibowitz         Steve Newman                   Al Owen   BAGeL Radio           Rock.com                       Al Owen Dance Mix   San Francisco, CA     Los Angeles, CA                Show                                                        New York, NY    Val Starr             Rick White                     Laura Clark   GotRadio              Big R Radio                    ShowBizRadio   Sacramento, CA        Seattle, WA                    Woodbridge, VA    Chris Lindsey                                        Jeff Falck   Slackline Radio                                      TexasOnlineRadio   Anchorage, Alaska                                    Lake Dunlap, Texas   

SaveNetRadio is a national coalition comprised of hundreds of thousands of webcasters, artists, listeners and labels from throughout the country committed to preserving the future of Internet radio.

Legislation currently before Congress, H.R. 2060 and S. 1353 -- the Internet Radio Equality Act -- would vacate the Copyright Royalty Board's decision and set a 2006-2010 royalty rate at the same level currently paid by satellite radio services (7.5% of revenue.) The bill would also change the royalty rate-setting standard used in royalty arbitrations, so that the standard applied to webcasters would align with that applied to satellite radio.

For more information on the SaveNetRadio coalition, visit http://www.savenetradio.org/.

First Call Analyst:
FCMN Contact:

Source: SaveNetRadio

CONTACT: Jake Ward of SaveNetRadio, +1-202-448-3156

Web site: http://www.savenetradio.org/

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Profile: International Entertainment