Today, Senators Ron Wyden (D-OR) and Sam Brownback (R-KA) introduced legislation that is the Senate counterpart to the “Internet Radio Equality Act” (H.R. 2060). This is a positive development for those who are concerned about the Copyright Royalty Board’s decision to raise the royalty rates webcasters pay to stream sound recordings on the Internet. The new rates promise to shut down most webcasters and threaten the diversity of music we now enjoy on the Internet. The senators’ legislation, like the Internet Radio Equality Act, nullifies the CRB’s decision and proposes a royalty payment scheme that would not bankrupt a vibrant and growing industry.
On the House side today, The Internet Radio Equality Act picked up 12 more co-sponsors bringing the total to 64.
For more information, visit Radio and Internet Newsletter and savenetradio.org.
Does anyone know if any of these proposals will raise our taxes? I certainly would not support tax dollars being used to keep internet radio viable.
The legislation as far as I know contains no language about taxes, nor does it propose to subsidize any particular entity/industry. It’s really more about keeping the playing field level in the free marketplace.