Save the Internet!

[Nbadan]

Support making forums like ST possible, support Net Neutrality by July 16th or forever hold your peace...

Leave the Internet alone! (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w-H3uczQPz8&eurl=http%3A%2F%2Fwww%2Esavetheinternet%2Ecom%2F)

[Nbadan]

Net Neutrality explained (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l9jHOn0EW8U&mode=related&search=)

[sabar]

Ordinarily regulation of the cable companies wouldn't be an issue, you could just switch to a competitor if they started cutting off sites you love, like SpursTalk. But the problem is that most broadband is an effective monopoly -- most areas in the U.S. only have 1-2 service providers. So SpursTalk gets banned from TWC (for whatever reason), I go to AT&T and that's my only option.

Thus the debate.

I think the industry, especially in the U.S., it self-regulating, but this stuff is real -- web site blocking is already in effect in places like Norway.

Yes, it is the company's network, but the crux of the problem is that the internet is a two-way street, we aren't just users, we are authors. Even here on SpursTalk, we don't just read, we contribute, and the danger of Net Neutrality dying is special interest in the cable company. They sign a deal with CNN or FoxNews, and thus they block off the competitor and all the blogs of the "little people". The voice goes to the highest bidder.

Why is the internet so great? Because some random person can make their voice heard alongside a multi-billion dollar news corporation.

But how real is this possibility? I already said my opinion in the U.S.

[Nbadan]

Oh, the threat to free-speech sites like SpursTalk is very real, today they want to shut down internet-radio sites:

Check this out:


The U.S. Court of Appeals DENIED the emergency stay requested by Webcasters. UNLESS CONGRESS ACTS BY JULY 15th, it is the end of the road for Internet radio. There is a massive coordinated action to flood Congress with demands for action today. Please join us!

. . .


PLEASE CALL YOUR SENATORS AND REPRESENTATIVES RIGHT AWAY and urge them to support the Internet Equality Act. Go to http://www.capwiz.com /... to find the phone numbers of your Senators and Representative.

For your House representatives, the bill is H.R. 2060. For your Senator, the bill is S. 1353 Click on the links to see if your rep is a co-sponsor. If they've already co-sponsored, thank them and tell them to fight to bring the bill to the floor for an immediate vote. If the line is busy, please call back. Call until you know your voice has been heard.

Your voices are what have gotten us this far - Congress has listened. Now, they are our only hope.

We are outmatched by lobbying power and money but we are NOT outmatched by facts and passion and the power of our voices.

Again, please go to http://www.capwiz.com /... to find the necessary phone numbers and make the call today.

Thank you,
Douglas Giles
WorldFusionRadio.com
member of the SaveNetRadio Campaign

[Spurminator]

Oh, the threat to free-speech sites like SpursTalk is very real, today they want to shut down internet-radio sites:

:wtf That's quite an overstatement.

Do you think the government should be involved in keeping the Music Industry from charging higher royalties to Internet music providers?

[Nbadan]

Yes.....................hello......


The Copyright Royalty Board recently issued catastrophic royalty rate hikes -- increases from 300 to 1,200 percent -- which are set to take effect July 15. And some of the increases will be retroactive to January of last year.

While music artists certainly benefit from royalties, this kind of royalty rate hike will mean bankruptcy for almost every Webcaster. Music is a labor of love for many Webcasters, as it is for so many musicians. A significant number of small Internet radio stations already operate at a loss; they carry on because of their commitment to the music they play. A dramatic rate hike is more than most can bear.

Right now, independent artists make up less than 10 percent of what's played on broadcast radio, but on Internet radio, we make up about 37 percent.

The reality is if our representatives in Congress allow these new royalty rates to go into effect -- and it's within Congress' power to decide -- it'll make it far harder for independent artists like us to make it. Worse for those of us who are also music fans, online radio will start to sound a whole lot more like broadcast radio. Millions of people whose musical tastes aren't served by broadcast radio will be left without an alternative.

While we've become believers in Internet radio for selfish reasons -- as both artists and listeners -- the principle of creating a marketplace encouraging artistic entrepreneurs stands on its own. It should be no surprise that the Internet, which has been the source of innovation in so many different industries, has been the home of and outlet for innovation in the music industry.

From our perspective, killing Internet radio means that thousands of great bands will go undiscovered -- and that's nothing but bad news for artists.

Killing Internet radio will not only stifle the great technology we have now, it will also stifle the innovation of even better, newer and more exciting ways to enjoy music -- and that's nothing but bad news for all of us.

Chicago Tribune (http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/nationworld/chi-oped0709musicjul09,1,5435227.story?coll=chi-newsnationworld-hed&ctrack=1&cset=true)

If you like listening to independent artist instead of the crap that's played on corporate radio day-in and day-out, you should be concerned too.

[Spurminator]

Well I don't subscribe to a philosophy where the government should enact legislation to protect me from Britney Spears' music.

The Internet Radio providers are using copyrighted property and those who own the copyrighted material have every right to charge what they feel is necessary. If the webcasters can't make that work financially, they should find a new business model.

[Nbadan]

Then they have every right to tell you what you can and can't listen to. Bands that haven't made it big aren't losing a lot of money by having their music played by these independent web-casters, in fact, if anything it helps too get the word out about the bands, after all, in the music industry, exposure is everything, and it may actually help legitimate music sales. What music conglomerates want to do is shut-down independent artists so they can stifle future music creativity to a form they approve of, that's bullshit.

[Spurminator]

There are plenty of ways to discover new artists besides Internet radio. The demand for a variety of genres of music isn't going to just disappear.

I think it sucks too, as a fan of music, but that doesn't mean I want Congress to step in and keep it easy for me to hear the new Rilo Kiley song.