Internet radio going silent

An interesting article on CNN.com a few days ago:
Today, Tuesday June 26 most Internet radio sites (like Pandora and Live365) , are going off the air in observance of a Day Of Silence - in protest of a new levy the government and the music labels are about to impose. An arbitration committee in Washington DC has drastically increased the licensing fees Internet radio sites must pay to stream songs, and the fees are retroactive for eighteen months. For small internet radio stations that will likely be the end.

In addition, it was decided that webcasters should cough up a minimum $500 "administrative fee" for every channel they broadcast online, resulting in Yahoo, Pandora, and RealNetworks (some of the biggest internet radio providers) having to spend $1.15 billion per year on the administrative fee alone.

Should licensing fees and royalties be paid? Absolutely. But not to the extent that the vehicles that serve the music to us, the consumers, are driven out of business. I hope that today's silence will speak, and if you want to know more or support the internet radio stations, you can do so by clicking here.