The Hill reports Republican Sen. Bob Corker of Tennessee is circulating a letter in the Senate strongly critical of the Internet Radio Fairness Act (IRFA), a bill proponents hope will make Internet radio royalty fees more equitable to those of similar forms of radio (read more on the IRFA here).
While the IRFA would simply give Net radio the same royalty-setting standard (known as "801(b)") as cable and satellite radio, Corker's letter says the bill would "force American property owners and creators to provide a subsidy to digital radio services, primarily Pandora." Leading webcaster Pandora currently pays more than half of its revenue for royalties, while cable and satellite radio pay less than 15% of revenue.
The Hill points to the Center for Responsive Politics site (here), which shows "As a senator for Tennessee, Corker's constituents include representatives from the country music hub of Nashville. Corker received $201,241 from the TV, movie and music industries during the 2012 election cycle."
Read more in The Hill here.
We're happy to announce our second-annual RAIN Summit Europe industry event, May 23 in gorgeous Brussels, Belgium. We'll gather with Internet radio leaders from across Europe and around the world at the Hotel Bloom for a full day of informative panels, presentations and networking.
He's only one person...
...and usually that doesn't get you anywhere when trying to lobby for pending bills...you need friends on your own level. For him, that's elsewhere on the Hill.
Do our elected legislators have any time to /listen/ to /any/ digital music provider? Some of them won't have any idea of their value till they've all been shut down due to out-of-control licencing bills.