A huge thank you to everyone who has been so supportive over the past week as we’ve been hit by the stunning ruling on webcast rates. It’s very heartening for us to see how much people care about this, and how willing listeners are to pitch in. And how many of you there are!!

There has been an enormous groundswell of opposition to this decision, and we’ve been hard at work on how to best channel the energy in the right direction. Because the webcasting community does not have an entrenched and powerful lobbying presence in DC, grassroots legislative pressure – constituents contacting their representatives – is clearly our biggest ally.

Internet radio is hostage to a blatantly discriminatory double standard that was written into the federal statute governing webcasting several years ago, following an intensive lobbying effort by the RIAA. We need to redress this, and create a more level playing field – one that of course rewards musicians for their work (I spent years in a band van myself and have always been driven by a desire to lift up musicians), and one that also understands the business realities, and benefits of online radio.

While we figure this out, below are a few of the more informative write ups we’ve seen in the past week. We also suggest that you visit and sign this petition put together by a collection of webcasters.

Doc Searls Blog

Jason Fry article in Wall Street Journal

LA Times Editorial

Thanks again for your support.

Tim (Founder)