The Death of Internet Radio

Where All The Evil Happens

There’s a new bad-boy in town, and it’s the Library of Congress. In the recent onslaught of suits and laws that target radio, the LOC’s Copyright Royalty Board is attacking internet radio for not paying enough royalties for the music that they play. Their reason (excuse)? The new rates will “better align the per stream compensation performing artists and record labels received from the digital play of their music with the fair market value of their work.” In other words, the legislation wants to equate the quality of the music with its monetary counterpart. Because we all know that when we listen to a song on our iPods or CD players that we think of it in terms of money. After all, music is money for some people. But those people have no soul or emotion.

So does that mean that the Library of Congress has no soul? It seems so, according to an example of what would happen to a station if this bill was enacted. National Public Radio (NPR), who has taken the strongest stance against this issue (and, surprisingly, Clear Channel has taken a firm opposition as well) by filing a rehearing report, says that an internet radio station typically pays 12% of their annual earnings to this board. The example that they gives involves AccuRadio, who made a total of $400,000 in revenues last year. Now, since the CRB requires the stations to cough up 12%, the station forked over $48,000 last year. That’s a lot, considering they need money to get DJs to fill their 320 channels with music. With the new laws, the station would have to pay $600,000 in royalty rates. Now let’s do the math… They make $400,000 and pay $600,000. Sounds like bankruptcy to me.

And it also sounds like bankruptcy to all of the internet stations that have caught wind of this. To put it in perspective, every station already has. With this new law in place, internet radio would surely shrivel up and die, with no other way to make money. What’s further ludicrous about this change in laws is that internet stations would be paying 400% more than FM and AM broadcasters dish out in royalty fees. And the SoundExchange, a royalty collection agency formerly under the umbrella of the RIAA (if you say its name in front of the mirror 10 times in the dark, I hear you get fined), is supporting this legislation wholeheartedly. Granted, they should be protecting the interests of their artists, but come on… Destroy internet radio to do it? There has to be a better way.

Some artists don’t think there is. There have been a couple of musicians that have already spoken out about this, not surprisingly in support of this bill. No, Lars from Metallica isn’t involved this time. Big Star’s (and Smog’s, but we’ll forget that) Jody Stephens is popping up in a couple of articles, saying “If music adds commercial value to someone's site, then there is a monetary value due the writers and recording artists, and that “[t]he decision by the Copyright Royalty Board helps us afford to continue to add this value of music.” Another supporter is Jay Jay French of Twisted Sister (starting to see a trend in what type of artists are in support of the bill?). He said, “With the shrinking royalties from the usual sources, the ever expanding digital universe is apparently becoming the future and, before our very eyes, it is here now. I wholeheartedly support all organizations that endeavor to collect and account to all the hard working artists whose material is exploited. I applaud these new royalty increases as they scratch the surface of the new world order."

Wow. Eloquently put. But let’s think of it this way. Jay Jay French’s royalties are “shrinking,” as he put it, but when was the last time his group came out with an album? According to my sources, 2006 was the year that they released the horrible, horrible Twisted Christmas, and before that, the only original release was in 1987. So yeah, obviously he’d be wanting more cash flow, since his band hasn’t come out with a selling record in 20 years. He does deserve money for when his music gets played, but he shouldn’t be attacking radio to get it. He should be pestering his record label and his publishers, not promoting the death of internet radio. The same goes for Jody Stephens. Big Star’s last studio release was in 2005, and before that was 1978. So that’s what, two albums in the past 39 years? Of course these artists are going to complain. They don’t have enough to ride on, and want to suck the money out of current technological institutions.

What the artists don’t understand is that these station are bringing their tunes to the current generation of tech-savvy youth that depends on internet radio. The youthful generations are the ones tuned in, and without those stations playing artists like Big Star and Twisted Sister, they may never even know that the bands exist. Internet radio is so fresh in the world of technology that it’s opening doors to younger generations that understand the technology – some may even depend on it to find new music or be entertained. With this law set into place, there would be no more of it. Internet stations wouldn’t be able to keep up, and would immediately and simultaneously all go under. But it’s all for the sake of Big Star’s Jody Stephens getting a fat check, right?

This is a wholly unjust law. Internet radio isn’t hurting anybody (unless you consider the few people who figured out how to rip MP3s from the broadcasts), and the Library of Congress is going to hurt it as punishment for doing nothing. And since there’s a dramatic unfairness to this all, since FM and AM stations would be paying 400% less than internet stations would in royalty fees, it’s clear that the government is trying to squash internet radio. What are their intentions, you ask? I’m not quite sure. But what I do know is that on Capital Hill sits handfuls of old men who only know about money and nothing else. If they see a company making money and giving more than 1/10 of its earnings, they’re going to want more. And even though organizations have heatedly spoken out against this, Congress could care less.

So here’s what you can do about it. If you love internet radio and don’t want to see it squashed after starting up in just the past 10 years, then you can go here (SaveNetRadio.org) for more information, or sign a petition here (34,000+ signatures at the moment). Sure, it may not be doing much, but I know you all don’t want to whip out your stationary and write to your Congressman (even though you could, but I know you won’t, you’re lazy like I am). I guess all we can do for now is just hope that Congress will have a change of heart (if they even have one), and keep internet radio alive. But if not, then prepare to see a whole ‘lotta webspace open up.