I am an avid internet radio listener. I couldn't get through my 40 hours a week at the cube farm without it. KEXP.org has been my saving grace for the past 4 years, though I have also enjoyed sites such as Live 365 and Netradio in the past. Through all of them, I have discovered countless bands that I may never have heard on my own. Internet radio DJ's have the freedom to program what they want, when they want and have contributed to thousands of new artists reaching wider audiences than they would have through commercial radio or other traditional media outlets.
In recent months, the future of internet radio has come into question. The nutshell reason behind this involves royalty rates for webcasters, which have been drastically increased by a recent ruling. These new rates are due to go into effect on May 15 (retroactive to Jan 1, 2006). If the increased rates remain unchanged, the majority of webcasters will go bankrupt and silent on this date.
Newsweek has a great article on the issue here. Also, you can read KEXP's response to the decision here. And if you want to take action, you can do so by supporting The Internet Radio Equality Act, which was introduced by Representatives Jay Inslee (D-WA) and Donald Manzullo (R-IL ). Call your congressperson and ask them to co-sponsor H.R. 2060 by clicking here. Our direct involvment in situations like this is how change gets made. Our direct lack of involvment is how things like this happen to us.
So, be a good American. Be an active and involved citizen. Be a supporter of new and upcoming artists. Help keep internet radio alive. Do it for yourself. Do it for the bands. But more importantly, do it for me. So that I'm not forced to listen to the jagoff in the cube next to me talking about "leveraging" and "metrics" and "reaching out" and "looping in" all day...
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