If A Radio Station Falls In A Forest…

Today is a ‘Day of Silence’ for many Internet radio stations, who have decided to shut down their streams in protest against new charges that will be levied from the 15th of July. Protesting sites include Pandora, Yahoo!, Rhapsody, MTV, AccuRadio and many more.

Last.fm are not joining in the protest, and have stated their reasons for this on their blog. Royalties due for radio broadcasts are determined by the relevant authority for each territory. The rate changes which are creating so much angst are being implemented in the United States, and apply to webcasts within that territory. Last.fm is based in the UK, where copyright payments are due to a society called PPL. The equivalent US body is SoundExchange, which will be collecting the higher royalty rates next month. Many people are concerned that the proposed rate hike will put many small webcasters out of business; this may well prove to be the case. The comments on the Last.fm blog (and elsewhere) illustrate the depth of sentiment which these changes are evoking.