a few weeks ago i called Nancy Pelosi’s office along with a few hundred other san franciscans. On that day, Rusty Hodge from soma fm was in her office to discuss the urgent matter of the Internet Radio Equality Act (so as to Save Net Radio from annihilation as a result of fees that only aol radio can afford). The assistant who answered Pelosi’s phone told me “she will issue a statement very soon.” 3.5 weeks later, we all received this email from Nancy’s office. While it’s nice to know she can regurgitate the issue in simple language, there is no indication of her stance on the issue, which is a huge disappointment. no surprises here, but have a look:

Dear Corey:

Thank you for contacting me to express your support for HR 2060, the
Internet Radio Equality Act. I appreciate hearing from you on this issue.

HR 2060, introduced by Representative Jay Inslee (D-WA), would
nullify the March 2, 2007, determination of the United States Copyright
Royalty Board with respect to implementing new internet radio copyright
rates. On April 26, 2007, HR 2060 was referred to the House
Committees on Judiciary and Energy and Commerce. No further action
has been taken.

On March 2, 2007, the Copyright Royalty Board announced its decision
to implement new copyright rates effective May 15, 2007. Currently,
internet radio stations pay an annual fee in addition to 12 percent of their
profits to the music industry’s royalty collection organization. The new
fee structure, which will be applied retroactively to 2006, will require a
minimum fee of $500 per channel per year as well as a payment of
$.0008 per performance, which is defined as the streaming of one song to
one listener. The per-performance rate is set to increase yearly through
2010.

As new technologies emerge, it is important to recognize and balance the
competing interests of copyright holders and the public. Please be
assured I will keep your comments under consideration should HR 2060
come before the full House of Representatives.

Thank you again for taking the time to express your views on this issue.
For more information on this and other issues, I invite you to visit my
website www.house.gov/pelosi. I hope you will continue to
communicate with me on matters of concern to you.

Sincerely,

Nancy Pelosi
Member of Congress

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