US citizens,

A number of Internet radio stations are no longer broadcasting, as the
RIAA has successfully killed them off.

See https://www.eff.org/Internet-Radio-Fairness-Act-Explanation
and http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Internet_Radio_Equality_Act

In 2002 the Internet Radio Fairness Act was introduced to the U.S.
congress.  If passed, this bill would allow stations to return to the
air.  Please send a fax to your representatives asking them to support
the Internet Radio Fairness Act. It will only take 3 minutes to fill
out the form at http://www.voiceofwebcasters.org/smallwebfax.htm

We would also like you to call your representatives at their offices
and ask them to support the Internet Radio Fairness Act as well.  We
need to bombard them with requests.  Call them at their offices.  

Call them once a week.  Tell your friends to do the same thing.

You can still help change the laws that have forced stations off the
net.  Visit Save Internet Radio for more information on how to write
your representatives.

If the laws are changed, a number of stations can return to the air.

With CARP royalties of $500 a DAY, many radio stations on the Internet
cannot continue broadcasting.

Don't listen to the RIAA press release that says most small webcasters
will only pay the minimum $500 a year.  Any station with more than an
average of 5 concurrent listeners will be paying more than that
minimum.

Below is the suggested letter:

Your Name
Street Address
City, State

Representative/Senator [name]
US Congress
Washington DC

Dear Representative/Senator [name filled in]:

I am writing you to express my strong request that you support
immediate legislative relief to save Internet radio and the role it
plays in promoting artists and their music on the Internet. I listen
to Internet radio and I want to see the current diversity of
programming provided by Internet radio preserved.

On July 26, 2002, Representatives Jay Inslee (D-WA), George Nethercutt
(R-WA) and Rick Boucher (D-VA) introduced legislation called the
Internet Radio Fairness Act (HR 5285) in the US House of
Representatives. This vital bill would protect a large number of
Internet radio stations from being forced out of business by unfair
and unaffordable performance copyright royalties. Please act
immediately in seeing that this effort is carried through the House
and Senate and made law before it is too late to save Internet
radio. Immediate action is required. The enforcement of retroactive
royalties based on the currently unaffordable rates is set to commence
no later than October 20, 2002.

We want you to understand that this legislative action does not seek
to eliminate royalties paid to artists by Internet radio stations. It
only attempts to ensure that fair and reasonable royalty rates are set
to allow Internet radio stations to survive and continue to develop
their nascent industry. In supporting this legislative action, you
will be ensuring that artists will receive fair compensation from
these stations and retain this valuable resource to promote their
music.

This bipartisan effort is already supported by several important
members of the US House of Representatives, including Representative
Donald Manzullo (R-IL), Chairman of the House Committee on Small
Business. We need your help to ensure that this action is passed by
the US House of Representatives and joined by similar action in the US
Senate. Please act now, there isn't much time left to save Internet
radio.

Sincerely,
Your Name
