Friday, it was reported that the royalty situation for Internet radio was given another reprieve. Everyone who was concerned could relax and take a small breath.

Now it becomes a matter of allowing the spectre of darkness, DRM, into the picture to make the really bad stuff [ridiculous fees] go away. The original decision of the Copyright Royalty Board would have increased the royalties owed by radio providers by a factor of 3 in the next 3 years, forcing many out of business.

Now the only thing able to keep the fees low enough for the majority of stations survive is allowing the streams to be DRM’ed, so that users could not record the content.

SoundExchange, the force behind this, has delivered a press release, in PDF form, detailing the offer it makes to compromise.

It appears that one of the greatest friends in Congress is Representative Jay Inslee [D-WA], who has been quite vocal about what might happen if Internet radio went away.

Anyone concerned about this should write their Congresspersons, and it probably would not hurt to write Rep. Inslee, telling him that you appreciate his efforts, and ask him to continue the fight.

Personally, I treat Internet radio, like the FM radio I used to love, before it became infested with garbage and commercials. I listen to it while working, but I wouldn’t record it, as the quality isn’t worth it to me. For this reason, I really don’t care about whether DRM has to be used, but in my head and gut, I rail against the idea of it.

No matter where you stand on this, it is important to make yourselves be heard. Remember, something never gets truly valued correctly until it goes away.

[tags] Internet radio, DRM, fees, exorbitant, SoundExchange, Copyright Royalty Board, digital rights management, Rep. Jay Inslee [/tags]