Marc Charbonneau

Pandora.com on the new royalty fees:

I'm writing today to ask for your help. The survival of Pandora and all of Internet radio is in jeopardy because of a recent decision by the Copyright Royalty Board in Washington, DC to almost triple the licensing fees for Internet radio sites like Pandora. The new royalty rates are irrationally high, more than four times what satellite radio pays and broadcast radio doesn't pay these at all. Left unchanged, these new royalties will kill every Internet radio site, including Pandora.

It’s bad news if sites like Pandora and Last.FM are forced to shut down because of this; I’ve always thought the concept behind them is great for both listeners and artists.