Helping the poor (RIAA) ...

[A radio station in] Chicago has announced it will no longer give away any free music. This new policy stems from the recent decision by the Copyright Royalty Board, which greatly increases the rates that music streamers will have to pay to the collection arm of the RIAA known as Sound Exchange.

“When I read that the RIAA needed money so badly that they were going to start to price gouge independent web streamers and radio stations who stream online, I knew we had to do our part,” said Matt DuBiel, PD at 9-FM.

“In the face of the RIAA’s struggles,” DuBiel continued, “it just doesn’t seem fair for us to be giving away free CDs to music fans who are fully capable of paying for the music themselves. That’s why we’re inviting everyone who has won a CD from 9-FM or any other radio station in Chicago this year, to return it to us and we’ll exchange it for a 9-FM T-shirt and give the CDs back to the RIAA. Perhaps with all of those CD’s back, the RIAA will have enough money so radio stations like 9-FM and other independent music sites can continue to affordably stream online.”

Newsweb Radio Company’s 9-FM trimulcasts on 92.5 FM (WDEK), 92.7 FM (WKIE), 99.9 FM (WRZA) and streams online at WePlayAnything.com, they say, “for now.”

Full article here.

There's more information at WePlayAnything.com (here), including a petition that U.S. citizens can sign to try and persuade their legislators to come to their senses and repeal that despicable law.

In a way, this seems like a contemporary re-telling of the story of David and Goliath, adapted for broadcast and internet radio of course. It will be interesting to see how it all ends. (And how many CDs the station collects!)