Fittingly, as one of the more acclaimed online radio stations in the country, the staff of locally-based woxy.com are front-line soldiers in the war to protect Internet radio (click on the link for info on how you can help). It is thought that proposed royalty rate hikes for webcasters will put most online radio stations out of business. But the fight from the opposition has been strong and it appears to be having an impact on the decision of whether or not to initiate the price increase. At the very least, their voices are being heard.
Bryan Jay Miller of woxy.com ventured to Washington D.C. last week to testify on Capitol Hill in front of the House Committee on Small Business. He performed expertly, touching on all of the issues involved with the loss of the Internet-radio medium. And it wasn't bad publicity for the station either.
It appears several independent labels are supporting the increase, ignoring the fact that without Internet radio, many of their artists wouldn't be played anywhere. Should be interesting to see if the webcasters blacklist those labels and refuse to play their music anymore, regardless of what happens. If anyone asks you why the rates shouldn't be unreasonably jacked-up, just tell them to watch this clip of Bryan in Washington:
— Mike Breen
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