BY KURT HANSON
During the battle over the 2000-05 CARP decision, perhaps the most effective single element in our effort to get a viable royalty rate for the industry was the May 1, 2002, media event that we called the "Day of Silence."

(See RAIN coverage here; use the "Prev" and "Next" buttons at the top of the page to see other days' coverage during the period.)

The event got amazing media coverage (here). "Hundreds of Internet radio stations plan to go silent Wednesday to protest proposed record-label royalty payments they say would endanger their industry,..." said a top-of-page-one-of -the-section article in USA Today.

"If you try to listen to your favorite Internet radio station on Wednesday and you don't hear any music, don't be surprised..." began a story in the NY Post.

According to Radio Paradise's Bill Goldsmith, "I had as much listener feedback and participation that one day as I had had from a whole month of non-stop PSA-type announcements.

Most of us who were involved at the time believe that event really turned the tide.

Within a few weeks of the "Day of Silence," the Librarian of Congress cut the royalty rate for Internet-only radio in half. (This option, by the way, is not an option this time under the revised statute. When the CARP was turned into a CRB in the 2004 Reform Act, the Librarian of Congress was removed from the decision process.)

Subsequently, Congress intervened and passed the "Small Webcaster Settlement Act" that paved the way for the establishment of a percentage-of-revenues royalty rate for the webcasters who needed it.

(April 2007 RAIN article on copyright law history is here.)

"Day of Silence" inspired by a 1927 promotion
From a fascinating web page called "Building the Broadcast Band" (to which I was first referred by Tuner2's David Frerichs), here is a truly insightful anecdote about how West Coast broadcasters galvanized public opinion in 1927, when the government was refusing to adequately regulate stations' frequency assignments:

And that's exactly what we can accomplish again: The whole country can be watching if we work together as a group and do this right.

Proposal: "Day of Silence 2007" on May 8th
Therefore, I'd like to propose the idea that webcasters coordinate a "Day of Silence" on Tuesday, May 8th — combined with a request to our listeners to use the silent time on that day to write their Congressional representatives and favorite journalists about their concerns.

Why do I recommend this approach as opposed to other less-dramatic actions like more banners and PSAs? Because a "Day of Silence" is a news story. Some webcasters are already running PSAs that contain a 10-second moment of silence. It's dramatic and effective, and I really like it, but it's not a news story.

How this fits in context
The "SaveNetRadio Coalition" game plan involves a coordinated effort to get legislative relief from Congress before the bankruptcy-level retroactive royalty payments come due on May 15th.

Proposed calendar of events for SaveNetRadio campaign

Hopefully, sometime during this period we will be able to get a bill sponsored in Congress, attach co-sponsors to it, and get a Congressional hearing on the topic scheduled.

If we are successful in doing so, the May 8th date may be perfect for urging Congress to bring the bill to a successful vote prior to the May 15th royalty due date.

Total silence, or something else?
Five years ago, we played this up as an industry-wide "Day of Silence," but in fact there was a group of webcasters that did not go silent at all — to take one example, some ran a nationwide all-day talk show produced by WOLF FM's Steve Wolf focused on the issues surrounding the CARP ruling and its aftermath.

From a marketing perspective, I had a problem with this approach. "Day of Silence" is a great name, and a talk show isn't silence!

On the other hand, it was a great show — informative and insightful — and it gave consumers something to listen to, so they were less tempted to simply go to one of the non-participating webcasters that day to get something to listen to at work.

So, this time, I think there might be a creative solution possible that (A) keeps our listeners engaged for the day but (B) still allows the event to live up to its name.

Here is my suggestion, subject to your input, and using our own property as an example, of how this would play: AccuRadio would "go silent" on May 8th, with a homepage that asks our listeners to call their Congressmen that day (and with links to help them do it).

But we would also include a link to a major public radio station's stream of an all-day talk show on the topic. Depending on the needs of the hosting public radio station(s), this talk show might be simulcast on the terrestrial station(s), or alternatively might be an Internet-only (and HD) stream.

Would any public radio stations care to volunteer to host or co-host this effort? Could we get live, in-studio performances by supporting musicians?

Will the major players participate?
In 2002, the radio stations that "went silent: were largely the "small commercial webcasters" group and large number of hobbyists and other Live365 stations. (Although we did get support in the form of PSAs and banners from Susquehanna and Cox stations and others including London's Virgin Radio.)

This time, to pull it off properly, I believe we'd really need the support -- in terms of actually going silent for a day -- of some major terrestrial broadcasters (e.g., Clear Channel, CBS Radio, Cox, Entercom, and/or Bonneville) and large webcasters (e.g., AOL, Yahoo!, Pandora, and/or MTV) as well.

For the big players, the revenue loss associated with a day of silence would be much greater, I realize -- but the potential cost of inappropriately-high royalties (or of shutting down their webcasting efforts) is in the millions of dollars, which is also much greater. By comparison, a day's loss of revenues is a drop in the bucket.

Make it a global effort?
Some confusion remains as to how, exactly, the CRB ruling affects streams delivered to U.S. listeners from international webcasters. (Our understanding is that, in general, royalty obligations occur in the countries where the listening occurs, under that country's rates.) To clarify this, ideally the Day of Silence could go global!

Webcasters with large U.S. audiences, like Last.fm in the UK, Iceberg Radio in Canada, and Triple J in Australia, could make huge waves by participating (or at least by cutting off their streams to U.S. listeners). Not only would this create good relationships among webcasters around the world ("We'll support you in your efforts someday, too!"), but the webcasters might get valuable press coverage in their own countries.

Conclusion: What do YOU think?
For those webcasters who have advertising commitments to fulfill, let me suggest that your total TTSL for the week might be just as high under this plan as otherwise: If you typically stream 10,000 hours of programming per day, it's true you might lose one day's worth of hours of listening, but I believe you might pick up that many additional hours later in the week as a result of the press coverage this event would generate.

Let's make this a group decision. Send me your feedback using the form immediately below. Monday, we'll post many of your comments and see if a consensus is forming.

From the Arbitron/Edison Media Research press release: "According to the latest study by Arbitron and Edison Media Research, The Infinite Dial 2007: Radio's Digital Platforms, consumers are continuing to explore radio in all its digital platforms — Online Radio, Satellite Radio, HD Radio, and audio podcasting — while maintaining a broad use of AM/FM radio.

"Key findings... [include]:

• "Those who listen to digital radio platforms do not spend less time listening to AM/FM radio...
• "The weekly Internet radio audience remains steady over the past year at an estimated 29 million...
• "While awareness of podcasting is up significantly, usage of audio podcasting is only up slightly...

"Bill Rose, senior vice president, Marketing, Arbitron Inc., [said,] 'The widely held perception that people who use new digital platforms listen less to over-the-air radio is false. In fact, users of digital radio platforms spend just as much time listening to over-the-air radio as the average consumer.'..

"Joe Lenski, executive vice president, Edison Media Research., [said,] 'Advertisers who start early will gain invaluable insight into refining their advertising business practices, resulting in a more effective use of these newer digital audio platforms.'..

Read the study report here.

From a SoundExchange press release: "In an effort to ensure a robust business environment for both webcasters and creators of music, SoundExchange announced today that it is in discussions with some webcasting services, both commercial and non-commercial, following the recent rate-setting decision by the Copyright Royalty Board (CRB).
SoundExchange is exploring mutually beneficial business arrangements that help to foster growth of Internet radio and provides fair compensation to creators of music...

"SoundExchange contacted some services several weeks ago in order to seek information and schedule possible discussions, and it is willing to meet with additional webcasters as well.

"'Our continued outreach reflects our long-standing position that these are two businesses – webcasting and creating music – that are joined at the hip and that need each other,' said John Simson, Executive Director of SoundExchange. 'We recognize that there may be certain needs and expectations, as expressed by webcasters in recent days, that might possibly be addressed through direct discussions,' added Simson.

"While SoundExchange maintains that the CRB’s decision is sound and reflects the fair value for music in the market, SoundExchange stands ready and willing to engage the webcasters on issues of importance to them.

"Michael Huppe, General Counsel of SoundExchange (said,) 'It is in the industry’s interest to foster the continued growth of Internet radio, and we stand ready to work towards that goal,' added Huppe."

Read the entire press release here (.pdf file).

...

... SoundExchange has been negotiating (seemingly half-heartedly, however) with webcasters for years, and this is the first time we've seen a press release about it! This press release is simply a message to Congress: "Look, there's no need for you to step in. We'll take care of this issue!" Of course, that's not true; webcasters have been trying for years, unsuccessfully, to negotiate a liveable royalty rate for 2006-10, and there's no guarantee at all that such a negotiation will succeed by May 15th. The hard work of webcasters, working musicians, independent labels, and listeners, through efforts like SaveNetRadio.org and others, is beginning to have an effect, and SoundExchange can feel it. That's what this press release is about. -- PM ...

From SaveNetRadio.org: "The SaveNetRadio coalition today announced it had exceeded the initial outreach goal for the national campaign to save Internet radio.

"In the three days since SaveNetRadio.org was officially launched, nearly 280,000 messages have been sent by Net radio listeners and webcasters to Congress opposing the royalty rate increase imposed by a Copyright Royalty Board March 2nd ruling. More than 3,500 artists that depend on Net radio have also joined the fight to preserve music diversity and called on their Congressional representatives to take action. The three millionth visitor to savenetradio.org was recorded today...

"Jake Ward (pictured left), a spokesperson for SaveNetRadio campaign, said, 'The reality is that there are only 27 days until the retroactive increased royalty payment comes due and thousands of webcasters go silent. 278,000 messages is a tremendous start, but we must continue to send the message to Congress to ensure they hear our message loud and clear.'

"The SaveNetRadio coalition is comprised of webcasters, artists, listeners and labels from throughout the country committed to preserving the future of Internet radio."

Read the entire press release online here.

Here's feedback on a whole host of CRB-related issues...

"KEEP PRESSING THEM ..."

"Nothing in life if for free, but I disagree with 'price gouging'.."

"Totally un-American and an absolute disgrace..."