Well, as the elections are showing up in the US I just want you to brief you on the correspondence I had with Senator Clinton and Senator Obama in the last months regarding RIAA..In July last year I had no idea of the republican candidates, so I did not write them.
We all know, that politicians in this special situation cannot give a definite answer, so please do not comment them in a negative way (Including Vax!). Please take the as a prove, that, as the signature of the senators is under the written document, they have heard about it and felt it important enough to write (better said have some assistant writing) an answer.
Lotus
PS: (The same mail was sent to Senator Obama and Senator Clinton, therefore one name always in brackets)
Written on July 10th, 2007 from Lotus:
Quote:
Re: RIAA Fees for Internet Radio
Dear Senator Clinton (Obama),
first of all I would like to express my hope for your understanding, that I am directing this mail to you from Germany, as the issue of this mail is my concern about an upcoming US legislation, which has worldwide consequences, which might have been overseen during the deliberations in your house of representatives and in the senate.
The RIAA increased the royalties for broadcasting music over the Internet to such an extend, that most of the non commercial (hobby) broadcasters have to turn off their stream, as the fees would ruin the owners of these stations.
As you may know, many of these private, absolutely non commercial broadcasters serve non mainstream music, sometimes some niches with only a handful listeners worldwide.
Since more than 3 years I am listening to the absolutely non commercial Internet broadcast of AuralMoon, serving the world with music progressive rock genre. To this genre belong so name full groups as Pink Floyd, Genesis, Yes, only to name a few. But in the 80's this sound got lost, although it continued living among a small group of enthusiasts. Thanks to AuralMoon and other Internet broadcasting stations of the same genre in the net, progressive rock is emerging again among a wider spread of music lovers, with fantastic new, young groups. We buy the CD's based on the broadcast we hear there and some artists on the playlist join us to discuss their music.
Please allow me to give you some facts about AuralMoon and the meaning of the new RIAA fews to it. Aural Moon has a maximum of listeners at 56 kbs of 178 people. If you donate a minimum of 50 US$ a year, you have access to a 128 kbs stream, but patrons are not that much, I think about 50. So maximum listeners (and this worldwide) are I think 250. If we take into account an average of 130 listeners a day and 6 songs per hour (pr songs last longer than normal ones), the yearly RIAA fee would be aprox US$ 6200 a year. Taking into account 50 patrons at 50 US$ a year the donations come to US$ 2500. We have to add to the US§ 6200 the cost of broadcasting, buying new CD's etc., so you can see, that AuralMoon has to close down, as the owner is not a millionaire.
AuralMoon is an international community with members and listeners all over the world. So if this RIAA fees come into force, not only US-Citizens will be affected, but many people worldwide. And this is not only the case of AuralMoon, but of I guess hundreds of US based non commercial Internet stations, taking away the possibility of musical culture of all aspects away.
Senator Clinton (Obama), as a candidate running for being the next President Of The United States, I personally think, that your thoughts should also be in us, non US citizens and living in our respective countries when laws are made which have an international consequences even in this small segment of having fun with music.
So, please, try to stop these senseless RIAA royalty rules, as even the absolute majority of artist do not want them.
Thank you for your patience, and please feel free to join us to listen excellent music and for a chat at
www.auralmoon.com
Lothar + full name and adress
Unquote
Received on July 13th, 2007 from Senator Hilary Clinton
Quote:
Thank you for your e-mail. It is very important to me to know the issues
that are of concern to you. A growing number of my constituents are now
choosing to communicate with me via e-mail. I hope you will understand
that, because of the volume and range of e-mails I receive, it can take
some time to send a response that specifically addresses the subject
raised in your message. I do, however, want to let you know immediately
that your message has been received. Hearing from you and others through
e-mail helps me to quickly learn the views and interests of New Yorkers
and others, which is very helpful to me in my work in the United States
Senate. I hope you will continue to monitor my work through my website
at
http://clinton.senate.gov, and I welcome hearing from you.
Sincerely,
Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton
Unquote
Received on July 17th 2007 from Senator Barack Obama:
Quote
Dear Lothar:
Thank you for contacting me regarding the Copyright Royalty Board’s rate increase decision and its effect on small webcasters. I appreciate hearing your thoughts on this issue.
The royalty rate for webcasters has proven to be a controversial subject, with small webcasters hoping to become viable, competitive alternatives to large commercial radio stations. As you know, many of these small webcasters offer a variety of music unavailable to a wide audience through other sources.
Regulations set by the enactment of the Small Webcasters Settlement Act of 2002, which favored small webcasters, recently expired and the regulations had to be revisited. As you are aware, in March, 2007, the Copyright Royalty Board issued its decision, which establishes new rates for commercial and noncommercial webcasters. The Board considered the comments of small commercial and non-commercial webcasters, who sought continuation of a fee based solely according to revenue. Ultimately, the Board rejected this benefit for small webcasters, opting instead for a flat-rate fee and a per song per listener basis. When making this decision, the Board cited the difficulty of distinguishing small and large webcasters, as well as their own lack of statutory authority to carve out royalty rate niches for the emergent business models promoted by small webcasters.
The Internet Radio Equality Act (S. 1353), introduced in the Senate on May 10, 2007, would reverse the decision by the Copyright Royalty Board. This legislation is currently being considered by the Senate Judiciary Committee. While I am not a member of this committee, I will certainly keep your thoughts in mind when it comes to the Senate floor for a vote.
Again, thank you for raising this issue with me. Please stay in touch.
Sincerely,
Barack Obama
United States Senator
Unquote
Received on Feb 4th 2008 from Senator Hilary Clinton:
Quote:
Dear Mr. Schmidt:
Thank you for taking the time to write to me regarding the new royalty rates for online radio. I always enjoy hearing from New Yorkers about challenging public policy issues that are important to them, and I particularly appreciate your concerns regarding the future of internet radio. As you may know, I am a strong supporter of maintaining an open Internet that fosters innovation. No other communications medium in recent history has had such a profound impact on the expression of speech, education, the dissemination of information and the exchange of ideas.
Online radio is a great example of how the Internet has helped to cultivate innovation and offered consumers access to new and personalized information. But the great technological and commercial progress that has come with the ongoing development of the Internet has also brought with it numerous new public policy dilemmas, such as how to properly balance copyright protection for music and other property with the innovation that the Internet continues to cultivate.
As you know, in March 2007 the Copyright Royalty Board (CRB) proposed a new online radio royalty structure, which would amend the system that has been in place since 2002 and establish a new scale for royalties charged to internet radio companies on a per-song, per-listener basis. The proposed rates begin at 0.08 cents per song per listener, retroactive to January 1, 2006 and could reach 0.19 cents per song per listener in 2010. In early July 2007, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. C ircuit rejected the request of a number of impacted webcasters that the implementation of the new rates be delayed pending their appeal of the CRB's decision, and the new rates went into effect on July 15.
Since that time, however, Sound Exchange, the organization that collects online radio royalties for the Recording Industry Association of America, and a broad coalition of webcasters have been negotiating potential compromise agreements on royalty rates. As those negotiations continue, I will continue to monitor this situation with the hope that they produce a fair and equitable resolution for all sides.
Thank you again for sharing your concerns regarding this important internet radio issue with me. Please be assured that I will continue to follow this issue closely and that I will keep your views in mind in the future as the situation plays out. For more information on my support for an open internet and other important issues before the United States Senate, please visit
http://clinton.senate.gov .
Sincerely,
Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton
Unquote
Thats it..
