Hit the pause button for a second

In this break in the action, I'd like to ask: Other than greed, what is up with the proposed Net Radio copyright fees, which some say will drive radio off the Internet?

Mashable says there has been a slight reprieve from the Monday (July 15) fee increase that would force a lot of radio stations off the Net under their present business models.

With more than 7 million people listening to online radio at some point every day according to SaveNetRadio, there is clearly a lot at stake.

Well, yeah.

I have no problem with rights holders getting paid and I'm not even sure why Congress should be involved. But the fee hikes don't even seem to make business sense: let's eliminate lots of customers building businesses and audience and revenue streams for us. Granted, I'm missing more than a few zeros in understanding this.

The companies that would see their business models gored appear to be behind the "grassroots effort" SaveNetRadio.org that's got a wave going in the stands. It's a typical arena football game in Congress with Big Blue Suit Corp. PR campaign vs. the "We the People" grassroots effort . Both sides leave the stadium driving BMWs after dropping wads at the Congressional campaign concession stands.

Hey, overtime just started. Back to the game. Hit play, will ya.

Tags: net radio | copyright | Internet Radio Equality Act