Today internet radio stations across the board have decided to shut down their broadcasts to protest the new outrageous rates recently set by the Copyright Royalty Board in Washington, D.C.

All of the major players including LAUNCHcast, Pandora, MTV, Real/Rhapsody, WXPN.com, KCRW.com, and many many others with the exception of AOL and Clear Channel have decided that today is the day to make a stand.

The new rates are higher then any online streaming company can afford to make a profit. Yahoo!’s LAUNCHcast is one of the largest in the industry and doesn’t plan on operating as a loss-leader.

There are ways in which you can participate in as well. Visit the SaveNetRadio.org which includes links to your local congressman and other industry execs that need to hear the message of the little man.

There’s also lots of independent artists out there which freely allow their songs to be streamed without royalties like Brother Love and Slau pictured above. Their songs can be found on iTunes as well as the PodSafe Music Network.

Read

P.S. Brother Love is going to be at the Canal Room in NYC on June 27th for the FREE live show.

Doors open at 8pm and Brother Love goes on at 10:00pm. RSVP to attend here.