As we discussed on the show, Net Radio is going to die on May 15th, unless some action is taken. Two wonderful congress critters (they could be yours!) introduced HR 2060, a bill that undoes the new rates being charged to Internet Radio stations.
This bill is incredibly important. SaveNetRadio.org has much more info than I'll be able to summarize here, but this bill not only repeals previous fee hikes, it puts into law caps on rates, either $0.33 per hour per listener, _OR_ 7.5% of the revenue, to be chosen by the music provider (read: us). This is fantastic news for people like us who make _NO_ money at this: 7.5% of $0 is still $0. It does have a provision that caps minimum charges at $500/year, so that's what we could have to pay.
One important thing to note here: this applies to Net Radio; historically, podcasts have been treated differently than net radio, places like Digitally Imported (insert obligatory shout-out here). So, this probably doesn't apply to us directly, but it sets a presedence, and is a step in the right direction.
So, anyway, if you like this show, and the 17 thousand other podcasts out there, please contact your congress critter and encourage them to consider HR 2060.
Mad Propz, yo, to Miles of Geek Speak at KUSP for bringing this bill to my attention. Thanks, guys. You have a greak show. Keep up the good work.