Congressional support is growing in favor of legislation to prevent the Copyright Royalty Board (CRB) from imposing cost prohibitive royalty payment rates on Internet radio stations. The latest show of support came on Thursday when U.S. Senators Ron Wyden (D-OR) and Sam Brownback (R-KS) introduced a bipartisan bill to negate the CRB rate change decision and impose payment rates in line with Satellite radio. A similar bill was introduced in the U.S. House of Representatives in late April.

The CRB approved changes at the beginning of March to the royalty payment schedule imposed on Internet radio stations. The new rates were proposed by SoundExchange, the RIAA’s digital music collection organization, and changed the 10 to 12 percent of gross income the stations had been paying to a pay per performance scheme. The new royalty payment plan would go into effect retroactively back to 2006 - costing most stations substantially more than their annual income. Those changes are scheduled to go into effect on July 15.

"Our bill is about standing up for folks ranging from a small Webcaster in a basement in Corvallis to an innovative startup in Beaverton," Senator Wyden said. "Keeping Internet radio alive is part of a broader issue that is important to me - keeping the e-commerce engine running by preventing discrimination against it."

Senator Brownback added "I am alarmed by the recent Copyright Royalty Board decision and the effect it will have on Internet radio - especially small Webcasters with limited revenue streams."

Without a change to the CRB many Internet radio stations will likely have to close down to avoid the skyrocketing fees, driving many to call July 15 "The day the music died."

SoundExchange, however, disagrees and went so far as to say that the House bill was catering to big corporations and that SaveNetRadio, an organization working to help keep Internet radio alive, is working to that end. John Simson, Executive Director of SoundExchange, commented "Because the bill is so heavily favored to enrich the big webcasters, it raises questions as to who is really behind the SaveNetRadio Coalition."

With similar bills making their way through Congress, it is even more likely that legislation will pass in time to change the new CRB royalty rates and prevent July 15 from being the day the music died.