Wired.com reports SoundExchange Entrenches Position as IREA Faces Music:
A federal bill that would reset music royalties at a more affordable rate for thousands of internet radio stations is losing steam in the House of Representatives, raising new fears for the future of webcasting.
Looks bad for Pandora…
Pandora is silent today, as are most other internet radio stations. Here's the letter explaining why:
A Day of Silence
Hi, it's Tim from Pandora,
I'm sorry to say that today Pandora, along with most Internet radio sites, is going off the air in observance of a Day Of Silence. We are doing this to bring to your attention a disastrous turn of events that threatens the existence of Pandora and all of internet radio. We need your help.
Ignoring all rationality and responding only to the lobbying of the RIAA, an arbitration committee in Washington DC has drastically increased the licensing fees Internet radio sites must pay to stream songs. Pandora's fees will triple, and are retroactive for eighteen months! Left unchanged by Congress, every day will be like today as internet radio sites start shutting down and the music dies.
A bill called the “Internet Radio Equality Act” has already been introduced in both the Senate (S. 1353) and House of Representatives (H.R. 2060) to fix the problem and save Internet radio—and Pandora—from obliteration.
I'd like to ask you to call your Congressional representatives today and ask them to become co-sponsors of the bill. It will only take a few minutes and you can find your Congresspersons and their phone numbers by entering your zip code here .
Your opinion matters to your representatives – so please take just a minute to call.
Visit www.savenetradio.org to continue following the fight to Save Internet Radio.
As always, and now more than ever, thank you for your support.
-Tim Westergren
(Pandora founder)
Please help save Internet Radio.
RIAA's second biggest mistake was to sue Tanya Andersen, an innocent single mother, for copyright infringement. Their biggest mistake was to harass her and try to depose her 10-year-old daughter. (And even, allegedly, to call the girl's school posing as her grandmother!)
RIIA was forced to dismiss its case against Ms. Andersen with prejudice, although the counter-claims remain to be heard. And now those counter-claims are being bulked up with a new complaint, which basically charges BMG and two other record companies, the Recording Industry of America (RIAA), and two of their lawsuit minions, Media Sentry and the “Settlement Support Center” of basically running a rip-off operation, with formal counts including negligence, fraud, abuse of process, malicious prosecution, intentional infliction of emotional distress, invasion of privacy, libel and slander, deceptive business practices, misuse of copyright laws, trespass to chattels (!), violations of the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act, and of course state and federal RICO claims.
The best part will surely be the depositions in which various record company execs and RIAA honchos and goons are asked whether they understood the nature of the fishing expedition cum intimidation racket they had cranked up. And being smart, some of them must surely have known. (The others will be mere knaves.) If they could sell seats, this could be the hottest ticket in town.
As it is, we'll have to make do with the transcripts.
(spotted via Groklaw)
Here's a chance to vote for your favorite Anti-DRM T-Shirt Design.
I somehow doubt that for all their public bluster we can expect the AACS folks to come up with 746,000 take down orders. Even so, I wonder if Siva is really taking this seriously enough when he writes, Hahahaha! I am breaking federal law! Hahahaha!.
Unfortunately, selective prosecution is not illegal….
[Update (5/5 19:00): Google's up to over 1.4 million now…]
Wired has some great photos of the ways in which regular folks engaged in AACS civil disobedience: Photoshop Rebels Rip Great HD DVD Clampdown.
Jotwell Blenderlaw