March 26, 2007

Really Idiotic And Asinine

The Copyright Royalty Board, promulgators of the recent we're-just-the-lapdogs-of-the-RIAA decision to drastically up licensing fees for Internet radio, have agreed to reconsider. Well, kind of. They're accepting additional written comments on the decision until April 2, but whether they'll actually hold additional hearings or change their minds on the rates they already set is still in a bureaucratic haze. (See this story from the useful clearinghouse blog Save Our Internet Radio.) There's a petition online, and a call or e-mail to the most muckraking of your local congresspeople might be in order.

If you're wondering what this is all about, Kyle Gann and Doc Searls can get you up to speed on the whole eye-rolling fiasco. (And get in your listening to PostClassic and Counterstream while you can.) Message from an actual working musician to the industry organizations allegedly working on my behalf: cut it out, will ya? I'm trying to make a living here.

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