Internet Radio lacks a viable businss model?

David Lazarus, San Francisco Chronicle :

Well, there it is. Internet radio sites may be cool and convenient, but, like so many dot-coms before them, they lack a business model capable of withstanding real-world cost pressures.

The difference is that the dot-coms you refer to didn't have their costs legislated by the government, and more importantly, didn't have costs drastically different for them just because they operate on the internet. It's not like Pets.com had to spend more money on the products they sold because they were an internet company, and the law said that internet pet supply dealers had to pay more for the products they sold than brick and mortar pet stores.

All other commercial users of music pay based on a percentage of their revenues. Unfortunately, the DMCA legislated that internet broadcasters would be treated differently, largely because when the DMCA was written there weren't really any internet broadcasters to lobby for fairness. The other guys, namely the satellite radio people, made sure that they got treated fairly in the law.

We're trying to fix this now. The Internet Radio Equality Act is all about royalty equality. There is nothing real-world about government-mandated prices for one industry that do not exist in other (practically the same) industries.

Tremendous amounts of news coverage today

Web Radio's 'Day of Silence' Protests Royalty Increases (FOX News)
NEW YORK — Web radio broadcasters across the United States were preparing for a 'Day of Silence' on June 26 to protest the US government's plans to boost ...

Web radio sites go silent in protest (Business 2.0, CA)
New licensing fees could doom Internet radio, but webcasters are fighting back with a 'Day of Silence.' Business 2.0's Chris Taylor investigates. ...

Web Radio Stations Hope Silence Speaks Volumes About Fee Hike (Washington Post, United States)
By Mike Musgrove No, music fans, there isn'ta problem with your Web connection -- it's just that many Internet radio stations are deliberately offline today ...

Online Webcasters go silent to protest higher music royalties (Malaysia Star, Malaysia)
NEW YORK (AP) - Dozens of online music broadcasters will go silent on Tuesday to protest a new set of royalty rates that many smaller companies say would ...

Online Webcasters go silent to protest (The Age, Australia)
Dozens of online music broadcasters will go silent on Tuesday to protest a new set of royalty rates that many smaller companies say would put them out of ...

Internet Radio Outlets Protest Royalties (Forbes, NY)
AP 06.25.07, 5:50 PM ET Dozens of online music broadcasters will go silent on Tuesday to protest a new set of royalty rates that many smaller companies say ...

Internet Radio Observes Day Of Silent Protest (Information Week Weblog, NY)
The intent of the protest is to demonstrate what will be heard on July 17th, the date that 17 months of retroactive royalty payments are due. ...

World Wide Web Net Radio Goes Silent To Protest Royalty Hike (CIO Today, CA)
By Jennifer LeClaire Internet-only webcasters and broadcasters that simulcast online are protesting royalty hikes in a "Day of Silence," alerting their ...

The Sounds of Silence Will Be Heard by Millions (Top40-Charts.com, NY)
WASHINGTON, DC (Top40 Charts/ SaveNetRadio) - The regularly scheduled programming of millions of Internet radio listeners will be temporarily interrupted ...

The Day the Music Died on the Net (CIO Today, CA)
By Hiawatha Bray The Digital Music Association, which represents Internet broadcasters, has asked a federal court to suspend the Internet radio royalty fee ...

Web radio broadcasts 'sound of silence' in rate-hike protest (Manila Times, Philippines)
Internet radio listeners will tune in to the sound of silence on Tuesday as webcasters protest a sharp rise in royalty fees that critics say will force ...

Internet radio stations observe 'Day of Silence' (PopMatters, IL)
by Brad Kava SAN JOSE, Calif.—When 29 million music listeners turn to their favorite Internet radio stations Tuesday, many will be greeted with the sound of ...

Web radio broadcasts 'sound of silence' in rate-hike protest (PhysOrg.com, VA)
A man listens to the radio on his computer. US Internet radio listeners will tune in to the sound of silence on Tuesday as webcasters protest a sharp rise ...

Web radio broadcasts 'sound of silence' in protest (Middle East Times, Egypt)
LOS ANGELES, CA, USA -- US Internet radio listeners will tune in to the sound of silence Tuesday as Webcasters protest a sharp rise in royalty fees that ...

Internet radio stations to protest royalty hikes (calendarlive.com, CA)
By Jim Puzzanghera, Times Staff Writer It's a protest staged by online radio stations to preview what they say will happen when substantially higher royalty ...

Webcasters go silent as protest (Deseret News, UT)
AP NEW YORK — Dozens of online music broadcasters will go silent today to protest a new set of royalty rates that many smaller companies say would put them ...

Online Webcasters Go Silent To Protest Music Royalties (6abc.com, PA)
NEW YORK (AP) - June 25, 2007 - Dozens of online music broadcasters will go silent on Tuesday to protest a new set of royalty rates that many smaller ...

Federal Discord Over Royalty Hikes (ABC News)
Artists wail against royalty fee increases for Web broadcasters who offer a rare promotional service for independent musicians. ...

Day of silence for Net broadcasters (San Jose Mercury News,  USA)
By Brad Kava When 29 million music listeners turn to their favorite Internet radio stations today, many will be greeted with the sound of silence - but not ...

Day of Silence (Macworld, CA)
By Christopher Breen If you’re accustomed to listening to streaming Internet radio or streaming music services such as Pandora, you may be surprised to ...

If You Like Online Radio, Call Your Congresspeople -- Seriously (Wired News)
By Eliot Van Buskirk June 26, 2007 | 10:39:49 AMCategories: Save Net Radio With all the lead-up to today's "Day of Silence" for webcasters in protest of the ...

Utah Public Radio shuts down Webcast for a day (Salt Lake Tribune, United States)
AP Posted: 8:54 AM- LOGAN - Utah Public Radio will shut down regular programming on its Web stream to protest music royalties for Internet radio. ...

Is Silence Golden? (InformationWeek, NY)
Since a bunch of badly-disguised radicals trespassed on a merchant ship and tossed some of its cargo into the waters of Boston Harbor, people have come up ...

Day of Silence: Internet Radio Goes Dark (Washington Post, United States)
If you listen to music, news or other programming via the Internet, you're likely to find a soundstream of silence today. The Day of Silence is a one-day ...

'Day of silence' for US web radio (BBC News, UK)
Web radio broadcasters across the US will hold a "day of silence" on Tuesday in protest at plans to hike royalty payments when music is played online. ...

Tiny Web radio stations squawk over royalty fees (San Francisco Chronicle,  USA)
Internet radio DJs are replacing their eclectic playlists with a "Day of Silence" today, a protest against new royalty rates they say could decimate the ...

A kind of hush all over Web radio (San Diego Union Tribune, United States)
Thousands of Internet radio stations will stop the music today for the National Day of Silence, a nationwide protest of an impending increase in royalty ...

A Royalty Pain (Hartford Courant, United States)
By JANICE PODSADA, Courant Staff Writer Charles R. St. James is one of thousands of people who operate an Internet radio station. At any given time, ...

Don't silence us (Boston Globe, United States)
By Seth Kroll | June 26, 2007 FAMILY JUNCTION is a band made up of five childhood friends. We decided that, after college, we were going to take on the ...

Net radio battles royalty ruling with silence (Globe and Mail, Canada)
To paraphrase a well-used joke: if an Internet radio station falls in cyberspace, does anybody here it? That's the question many online radio listeners ...

Tomorrow: Day of Silence for Internet Radio (Wired News)
By Eliot Van Buskirk June 25, 2007 | 12:44:33 PMCategories: Save Net Radio Internet radio stations will broadcast no music tomorrow (June 26) in observance ...

Protest will silence some online music (Boston Globe, United States)
By Hiawatha Bray, Globe Staff | June 25, 2007 A swath of the Internet is set to go silent tomorrow, as online music broadcasters shut down to protest a plan ...

Internet Radio Will Go Silent on June 26th (Slashdot)
Spamicles writes "Thousands of US webcasters plan to turn off the music and go silent this Tuesday, June 26th, to draw attention to an impending royalty ...

Thousands of Webcasters Go Silent to Protest Higher Royalty Rates (Digital Media Wire, CA)
Washington - Thousands of US webcasters on Tuesday went silent, staging a day-long blackout in protest of sharply higher music royalty rates set to take ...

Webcasters to SoundExchange: No, It’s Not an All-Day Listening ... (All Things Digital, CA)
If things continue as they are, the Buggles may have to re-record their 1979 New Wave masterpiece with a new lyric: “Imbeciles Killed the Radio Star. ...

The Real Digital Divide (Huffington Post, NY)
Our government just doesn't get the Internet. And that really is a shame, because it makes grassroots web culture like Internet radio vulnerable to the ...

Internet Radio "Day of Silence" hushes thousands of stations (Ars Technica, MA)
By Jacqui Cheng | Published: June 26, 2007 - 11:51AM CT Today is June 26, and that means that it's the Internet radio Day of Silence. ...

Internet Radio Protest (Today's THV, AR)
You could be hearing the sounds of silence on your favorite Internet radio stations -- and we're not talking about the Simon and Garfunkel song. ...

Internet Radio Day of Silence is Time to Make Noise (Audio Graphics, OH)
What will tens of thousands of people do today when they find their online radio station silent? If SaveNetRadio organizers' predictions are correct, ...

Internet Radio (Digital Silence, PA)
We've been following this story for awhile and now comes another phase. If you listen to music, news or other programming via the Internet, you're likely to ...

Web Radio Goes Silent In Protest (FMQB, NJ)
As expected, tens of thousands of Webcasters across the US have silenced their streams today in protest of the impending hike in royalty fees. ...

Internet radios to observe 'Day of Silence' to protest rate hike (What is the Word, India)
The SaveNetRadio Coalition has announced that Internet broadcast stations across US will observe a day of silence in protest against the recent price hike ...

US web radio broadcasters launch silent protest (CBC New Brunswick, Canada)
Internet radio broadcasters across the United States are holding a "day of silence" on Tuesday to protest plans to raise royalty payments for music played ...

US online radio webcasters have "day of silence" in protest of new ... (Shiny Media, UK)
Web radio broadcasters in the US are having a radio "day of silence" in protest of the Copyright Royalty Board's plans to raise royalty payments for music ...

The sounds of silence will be heard by millions (Vallejo Times-Herald, CA)
By Cyndi Combs/Times-Herald staff writer Regular programming of millions of Internet radio listeners is expected to be temporarily interrupted today when ...

A Moment of Silence...for a Good Cause (Film Fodder)
This is way off-topic...but, I have previously posted on the plight of internet radio and the efforts of SaveNetRadio.org to repeal the royalty rate ...

Web Radio Day Of Silence Today (Digitaltrends.com, OR)
By Christopher Nickson If you’re tuning into web radio today and can’t find anything to listen to, don’t be surprised. Many web radio broadcasters are ...

Radio Silence (BroadbandReports.com, NY)
Today, Internet stations around America are participating in an Internet "Day of Silence" to protest a freshly passed royalty rate hike system lobbied for ...

Bid4Spots Voices Support for Internet Radio Broadcasters on This ... (Business Wire (press release), CA)
ENCINO, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Bid4Spots (http://www.bid4Spots.com) today announced that it stands in solidarity with Internet broadcasters on this “Day ...

NEW: Internet radio stations launch protest (Gainesville Sun, FL)
By ANTHONY CLARK Thousands of Internet radio stations are going silent Tuesday to protest proposed royalty increases they say will put many Webcasters out ...

Yahoo Turns Off The Radio (WebProNews, KY)
A Day of Silence has swept across the bandwidth of a number of music webcasting services as they protest new royalty rates that could put them out of ...

Radio silence protests fee plan (Albany Times Union, NY)
By CHRIS CHURCHILL, Business writer Radio stations and music broadcasters are warning that a plan to sharply increase the royalties paid for online ...

Web Radio Goes Silent in Protest (Aversion)
A coalition of Internet radio broadcasters has gone silent today to protest royalty rate hikes for webcasters. The Save Net Radio coalition, which includes ...

Webcasters protest with silent treatment (New York Daily News, NY)
By DAVID HINCKLEY Thousands of Internet radio streams will go silent today in protest of new music royalty rates that Webcasters say could drive almost all ...

Webcasters to protest planned royalty hikes (Ventura County Star (subscription), CA)
By Jennifer Muhmel, jmuhmel@VenturaCountyStar.com People trying to listen to their favorite Internet radio stations today might be greeted with silence as ...

Web radio going silent (Attleboro Sun Chronicle, MA)
BY TED NESI SUN CHRONICLE STAFF Listeners who turn on their favorite Internet radio station today expecting to hear Bob Marley, the Monkees, ...

Internet radio going silent to protest royalty increase (Daytona Beach News-Journal, FL)
Thousands of US-based Webcasters plan to turn off their music and go silent today to draw attention to an impending royalty rate increase they say will ...

A day of silence (MSU State News, MI)
If you turn on your favorite Internet radio channel today you might find it eerily silent. Today, Internet stations around America are participating in a ...

The Sounds of Silence Will Be Heard by Millions (PR Newswire (press release), NY)
WASHINGTON, June 25 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The regularly scheduled programming of millions of Internet radio listeners will be temporarily interrupted ...

Internet Radio to Hold National 'Day of Silence' Tomorrow (Zeropaid, CA)
Thousands of US webcasters plan to hold a "Day of Silence" to draw attention to their industry's plight and protest an impending dramatic escalation of the ...

Wall Street Journal: Web Broadcasters Plan Protests Over Royalties

Wall Street Journal reports:

Music fans tuning into their favorite Internet radio stations next Tuesday might hear nothing but silence.

Web broadcasters are planning to turn off their music for the day to protest higher statutory royalty rates payable to artists. Some of the largest services, including Live 365 Inc., Pandora Media Inc. and Yahoo Inc.'s Yahoo Music, are participating in the blackout, which organizer Kurt Hanson of online-radio service AccuRadio has dubbed "Day of Silence."

Alas, AOL and Clear Channel aren't participating. AOL was originally going to support it, but the executive management said no. (Apparently they didn't want to piss off their subscribers and XM.) Although it makes you wonder: AOL and Clear Channel say they can't afford the new streaming rates, but then they go on to say they can't afford to turn their streams off for a day?!