x "Day of Silence" on temporary hold awaiting optimal date Given the surprise two-month reprieve in the CRB's final determination yesterday (see RAIN article here), May 8th is no longer the optimal date for our planned "Day of Silence" event.  Watch for continued analysis and news regarding this event in upcoming issues of RAIN. x
	Now that our "D-day" has been postponed to July 15th, webcasters should make special note to remove any PSAs, graphics or other materials from their sites and streams that mention May 15th as the date royalty rate payments will be due. New materials reflecting the updated timeline is available for use now at SaveNetRadio.org. x

BY PAUL MALONEY
The Internet Radio Equality Act (IREA, also known as H.R. 2060) (RAIN coverage here) continues to gain support in Congress, following Tuesday's "Hill walk" in which webcasters, artists, and representatives of small record labels personally visited the offices of dozens of Representatives and several Senators.

The bill now has 41 co-sponsors, in addition to sponsor Rep. Jay Inslee (D-WA) and Donald Manzullo (R-IL), representing both parties across 25 U.S. states and Puerto Rico.

The chart below is a list of those Representatives actively co-sponsoring H.R. 2060, and includes state, district, party, tenure, and (if applicable) membership in "key" House committees such as Energy and Commerce, Judiciary, and Small Business.

We'll maintain the chart for the convenience of webcasters and Internet radio listeners. If your Congressperson is in the chart below, there's no need to contact them — they're on our side! (Though, if you wish, you could e-mail them a 'thank-you.') If you do not see your Representative on this list, keep the pressure on! Call and urge them to co-sponsor H.R. 2060 (this can be easily done through the SaveNetRadio.org site.)

The most recently added co-sponsors are highlighted in blue in the chart.

Bill sponsors
	Representative Jay Inslee Washington's 1st District 6th-term Democrat Key committee(s): Energy and Commerce
	Representative Donald A. Manzullo Illinois's 16th District 8th-term Republican

Co-sponsors
	Representative Michael Arcuri New York's 24th District 1st-term Democrat
	Representative Tammy Baldwin Wisconsin's 2nd District 5th-term Democrat Key committee(s): Energy and Commerce; Judiciary
	Representative Roscoe Bartlett Maryland's 6th District 8th-term Republican Key committee(s): Small Business
	Representative Earl Blumenauer Oregon's 3rd District 7th-term Democrat
	Representative Rick Boucher Virginia's 9th District 13th-term Democrat Key committee(s): Energy and Commerce; Judiciary
	Representative Corrine Brown Florida's 3rd District 8th-term Democrat
	Representative Vern Buchanan Florida's 13th District 1st-term Republican Key committee(s): Small Business
	Representative Michael Capuano Massachusetts' 8th District 5th-term Democrat
	Representative Stephen I. Cohen Tennessee's 9th District 1st-term Democrat Key committee(s): Judiciary
	Representative Joseph Courtney Connecticut's 2nd District 1st-term Democrat
	Representative Barbara Cubin Wyoming (at-large) 7th-term Republican Key committee(s): Energy and Commerce
	Representative Susan A. Davis California's 53rd District 4th-term Democrat
	Representative Peter A. DeFazio Oregon's 4th District 11th-term Democrat
	Representative Keith M. Ellison Minnesota's 5th District 1st-term Democrat Key committee(s): Judiciary
	Representative Brad Ellsworth Indiana's 8th District 1st-term Democrat Key committee(s): Small Business
	Representative Sam Farr California's 17th District 8th-term Democrat
	Representative Bob Filner California's 51st District 8th-term Democrat
	Res. Com. Luis Fortuno Puerto Rico (at-large) 1st-term Republican
	Representative Virginia Foxx North Carolina's 5th District 2nd-term Republican
	Representative Raul M. Grijalva Arizona's 7th District 3rd-term Democrat Key committee(s): Small Business
	Representative Luis V. Gutierrez Illinois' 4th District 8th-term Democrat Key committee(s): Judiciary
	Representative Brian M. Higgins New York's 27th District 2nd-term Democrat
	Representative Baron Hill Indiana's 9th District 4th-term Democrat Key committee(s): Energy and Commerce
	Representative Maurice Hinchey New York's 22nd District 8th-term Democrat
	Representative Michael M. Honda California's 15th District 4th-term Democrat
	Representative Jesse Jackson, Jr. Illinois' 2nd District 7th-term Democrat
	Representative Dale E. Kildee Michigan's 5th District 16th-term Democrat
	Representative Mark S. Kirk Illinois' 10th District 4th-term Republican
	Representative John Lewis Georgia's 5th District 11th-term Democrat
	Representative Jim McDermott Washington's 7th District 10th-term Democrat
	Representative Cathy McMorris Rodgers Washington's 5th District 2nd-term Republican
	Representative Michael H. Michaud Maine's 2nd District 3rd-term Democrat Key committee(s): Small Business
	Representative James P. Moran Virginia's 8th District 9th-term Democrat
	Representative Ron E. Paul Texas' 14th District 10th-term Republican
	Representative David E. Price North Carolina's 4th District 10th-term Democrat
	Representative Dave Reichert Washington's 8th District 2nd-term Republican
	Representative Tim Ryan Ohio's 17th District 3rd-term Democrat
	Representative Carol Shea-Porter New Hampshire's 1st District 1st-term Democrat
	Representative John M. Spratt, Jr. South Carolina's 5th District 13th-term Democrat
	Representative Lee Terry Nebraska's 2nd District 5th-term Republican Key committee(s): Energy and Commerce
	Representative Lynn Woolsey California's 6th District 8th-term Democrat

From an editorial in the Seattle Times: "The Internet has opened new lines of communication and pumped life into old and corporately abused media like radio.

"But a new rate structure by the national Copyright Royalty Board (CRB) threatens an inventive medium: Internet radio. The CRB is essentially treating Internet radio stations like download services...

"To understand how this new system will affect cyber mom-and-pop operations, consider Radio Paradise,... [which] would have to pay about $45,000 a month in royalties under the new rate structure. That is more than it paid in royalties for 2006 and exceeds the site's gross income.

"Closer to home, Seattle's KEXP will feel the crunch... No doubt, KEXP's pledge drives will take on a desperate tone if the CRB's ruling is not overturned.

"What makes the CRB's decision more upsetting is that it was suggested by SoundExchange, the entity that collects and distributes royalty fees. Artists have a right to be compensated, but the systems should not cripple the avenues that deliver their music.

"Traditional radio has become a wasteland for music. The same tired songs that emanate from a consolidated record industry dominate radio from coast to coast.

"Congress must act on [The Internet Radio Equality Act, H.R. 2060]. If not, America's creative voices will have lost yet another outlet.

CRB rates destroy public broadcasting mission
"Among the beneficiaries of the Internet has been public broadcasting, which reaches new audiences with sounds seldom heard on commercial radio.

"Many public-broadcasting stations with a dominant news format have been able to expand music programming to the Internet. WAMU, at American University, is the NPR affiliate for Washington, D.C., and also has a 24-hour bluegrass station on the Internet. Stations such as WAMU that have grown beyond the traditional public-broadcasting mission are now in jeopardy by a change in the way royalties are paid...

"The CRB's rates... discredit decades of precedent that took into account the public-service objective of nonprofit public radio.

"The CRB should realize, and recognize, that the Corporation for Public Broadcasting has traditionally paid music royalties for public radio. This means that taxpayers could be subsidizing the larger fees, and less money could be going to community-service programming such as local news.

"Public-broadcasting stations should not have to jettison innovative and valuable programming on the Internet to keep their news operations running. Internet radio has allowed public broadcasters to expand and help break the mold of corporate radio in an era of consolidation.

"The CRB should encourage other stations to do what WAMU has done. Instead, a system has been set up that threatens news-gathering stations at the heart of our democracy.

Read the editorials at the Seattle Times here and here.