According to the SaveNetRadio Coalition and the New York Times, SoundExchange committed temporarily not to enforce the new royalty rates so webcasters can stay online as new rates are agreed upon. Check out the links for more detail.
I guess this is good news, and it means that small webcasters will not be forced “off the air” tomorrow. I am really hopeful that this will keep my favorite stations broadcasting. In my estimation, Internet radio has completely changed the way people listen to music, and has created opportunities for independent musicians and people who are not working for large corporate conglomerates in the music industry. And though SoundExchange would have you believe otherwise, Internet radio gives exposure to musicians and actually sells music! I have discovered untold musicians by listening to my favorite sites. Here are a few of them:
And of course, NPR has a lot of great podcasting, and they are calling for protests of these royalty fee hikes.
Please contact your congresspeople and urge them to support Internet radio and oppose these stupid fees!
Paradoxologies 