As I'm sure many are aware, the Copyright Royalty Board will be jacking up its rate structure for Internet broadcasters beginning May 15th. Without some significant change in course, this will mean the death of independent radio stations on the Internet. I'm not sure even the "big boys" like Live365 can handle the absurd pricing that the CRB is asking for, and I'm damn sure the small-timers can't, especially with the $500/year per-stream minimum.

If they stick with the current pricing (and choose to enforce it) is there any way this is not the end of independent radio on the Internet? Is that what the CRB wants, or are they just too stupid to realize that they'll lose customers big *and* small? Does this end up creating a "pirate" radio scene on the Internet with stations appearing and disappearing as they're shut down?

I have about a half dozen small streams that I listen to that I'm pretty sure won't be able to handle the increased rates. I don't know what will happen to them, but this whole situation definitely stinks. If you're in the US, you can email your congressdroids here:

http://www3.capwiz.com/saveinternetradio/home/

It seems futile, but it's worth a shot.