Day of Silence

Source: cnettv.com







Internet radio to go silent on June 26?
Posted by Anne Broache

If you depend on the sounds of Internet radio to get you through your workday, don't be surprised if your headphones pipe out little more than dead air next Tuesday.

In protest of the elevated royalty fees Webcasters are poised to begin owing to the record industry next month, Internet radio operators are planning to stage a "day of silence."

So far, Live365 and AccuRadio.com have agreed to cease their music programming on June 26, save for brief audio public service announcements sprinkled throughout the day, according to a Wednesday report by Kurt Hanson of the Radio and Internet Newsletter,. So has the online presence of KCRW, the Southern California-based public radio station. Other public radio broadcasters and larger operators, such as Yahoo, RealNetworks' Rhapsody service and Pandora, may also sign on, Hanson said.

A number of small commercial Webcasters are also on board with the idea, and all told, thousands are expected to participate. Smaller Webcasters staged a similar protest five years ago in response to a similar rules change by the U.S. copyright officials.

At issue are fee hikes that the Internet radio community says could bankrupt its services, particularly those run by smaller operators. SoundExchange, the non-profit collection entity that lobbied for the changes, has repeatedly argued the changes are fair and necessary to ensure artists are compensated adequately.

Opponents of the changes are still hoping for a reprieve before the July 15 date on which the royalties are scheduled to kick in. They are continuing to pressure politicians on Capitol Hill to pass bills that would overturn the royalty rate increases and align them with those required of other digital services, such as satellite. Some groups have also asked a federal appeals court to delay the rate changes.
Internet radio to go silent on June 26?
Posted by Anne Broache

If you depend on the sounds of Internet radio to get you through your workday, don't be surprised if your headphones pipe out little more than dead air next Tuesday.

In protest of the elevated royalty fees Webcasters are poised to begin owing to the record industry next month, Internet radio operators are planning to stage a "day of silence."

So far, Live365 and AccuRadio.com have agreed to cease their music programming on June 26, save for brief audio public service announcements sprinkled throughout the day, according to a Wednesday report by Kurt Hanson of the Radio and Internet Newsletter,. So has the online presence of KCRW, the Southern California-based public radio station. Other public radio broadcasters and larger operators, such as Yahoo, RealNetworks' Rhapsody service and Pandora, may also sign on, Hanson said.

A number of small commercial Webcasters are also on board with the idea, and all told, thousands are expected to participate. Smaller Webcasters staged a similar protest five years ago in response to a similar rules change by the U.S. copyright officials.

At issue are fee hikes that the Internet radio community says could bankrupt its services, particularly those run by smaller operators. SoundExchange, the non-profit collection entity that lobbied for the changes, has repeatedly argued the changes are fair and necessary to ensure artists are compensated adequately.

Opponents of the changes are still hoping for a reprieve before the July 15 date on which the royalties are scheduled to kick in. They are continuing to pressure politicians on Capitol Hill to pass bills that would overturn the royalty rate increases and align them with those required of other digital services, such as satellite. Some groups have also asked a federal appeals court to delay the rate changes.






Will last.fm be taking part in this event?

I think Last.fm should shut off the radio streams. They broadcast to Americans, and they have to pay the royalties too (I believe... someone correct me if I'm wrong). Many other big online radio companies are going off, such as Pandora, Live365, MTVOnline, and Rhapsody.

great_magician said:
My first thought is the sheer irony of a sound-based industry eliminating sound to make a point, but, that's probably the point.

When animal lovers heard that the royal family did undo harm to animals while hunting (I assuming they mean repeative stabbings, instead of a clean kill), they cooked that type of animal (if memory serves, it was a fox) and ate it. As such, I'm not surprised that the netradio industry will shut off there streams, if people don't get congress to revert the fees soon, that's all we'll be getting.

terinjokes said:
When animal lover heard that the royal family did undo harm to animals while hunting (I assuming they mean repeative stabbings, instead of a clean kill), they cooked that type of animal (if memory serves, it was a fox) and ate it. As such, I'm not surprised that the netradio industry will shut off there streams, if people don't get congress to revert the fees soon, that's all we'll be getting.

Thread: http://www.last.fm/forum/23/_/288795

That and this internet radio dealie aren't really comparable. Internet radio companies are essentially going on strike, thereby denying us and others of a service or function which we presumably value (I know I do). McGowan, however, is just a douch.

http://www.last.fm/event/272101

cheers

I really hope that Last.fm do go silent for a day to support the cause and support other online radio stations.

Thank you Sarah. You're right and i'm european too. But when this starts in the US it will come to Europe too someday. On the other side i often used US webradio in the past and would love to do it again in the future.

I add a description to the event. Attending this event does not mean that one stops using last.fm on Tuesday. It's just a sign of support for the event. In the end it's last.fm's part to join the Day of Silence that means stopping the radio feeds.

jewlofthelotus: Yes i was inspired by this techcrunch article.

cu

m.

Is there anyone we can contact at Last.fm to urge them to do this [or even better reduce the stream with public service announcements on the issue in between]?

I'd really really like it if Last.fm did it.

Another vote for Last.fm to join the blackout. For what it's worth, I will not use Last.fm that day as a show of solidarity.

The new rules are horrible, and they're only going to happen because not enough people are aware.

Is Last.fm avoiding this issue because it's owned by CBS? If so, that's really, really lame. Way to be corporate, guys.

I am so impressed by the passionate, articulate and well planned campaign that the internet radio industry is mounting against the ridiculous CRB stance. Last.fm is (or was) both a leading instigator and also a prime beneficiary of this revolution in music media awareness and distribution. It must join in otherwise it will be quite rightly seen as a traitor to the industry that spawned it.

If they don't (And I sure as hell hope they do) shut it all down on the 26th... well, that's a sign the Last.fm I knew back in the Audioscrobbler days is dead.

Sorry guys but this isn't going to acheive anything. I'm 99% sure that the people drawing up the new legislation on internet radio won't even notice.

[ As Stormx mentioned above: ]

This is a day that last.fm should observe and if that doesn't happen, that will be the day I cancel my last.fm account.

I always liked last.fm over the competitors because of the community and the general spirit of the people who run last.fm but last.fm not going silent on that day means it is just another corporate sellout.

Lets hope last.fm does the right thing...