The day Net music died
If you are a fan of online music, you might be deafened by the silence today. Internet radio stations are staging a silent protest today against a substantial royalty increase going into effect next month. They claim some stations will go silent for good. Web music services like Pandora, Live365 and Real Networks’ Rhapsody and even broadcast radio stations including WAMU in Washington and KCRW in Santa Monica, Calif., join in the protest against the Net rate hike coming July 15. The Day of Silence is being organized by SaveNetRadio, a coalition of webcasters, listeners and artists lobbying for Congress to reject the royalty spike. Meanwhile, the Digital Media Association and some webcasters have asked a federal appeals court to issue an emergency stay on the royalties.