Unfortunately due to the pending issues with webcasting lincensing, Underground Committee is forced to pull all streams from it's site.
Underound Committee is an independent organization who set out to give you quality Underground Music, thats all gone now. We can't afford the fees. It all started with BMI. After numerous attempts to contact us, they finally decided to just mail us the contract. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- ---- The Bullshit they want us to believe: Webcasting CARP: What's All The Fuss About? Who is it? Three-person Copyright Arbitration Royalty Panel (CARP) appointed by the U.S. Copyright Office. What is it? The CARP submitted a report to the Copyright Office recommending royalty rates to be paid by webcasters and simulcasters (i.e. FCC-licensed broadcasters that simultaneously retransmit on the Internet) to artists and copyright holders. When? The proposed rates were submitted on February 20, 2002; The Copyright Office must rule on the rates by the end of May 2002. What's the issue? In recent weeks, the CARP rates have become the subject of an intense misinformation and propaganda campaign (so called "grassroots" but really ginned up by sophisticated lobbyists in D.C.) -- waged through the news media, emails to Capitol Hill and numerous Internet sites. The goal is to scare non-commercial webcasters - including college radio stations and so-called hobbyists - and their members of Congress into thinking that the CARP rates are going to drive non-commercial webcasters out of business. The RIAA's Position On CARP Rates Contrary to what has been reported in the news media and circulated on the Internet, the RIAA and its member companies want ALL webcasters, large and small, to succeed. Unlike terrestrial broadcasters, webcasters - particularly non-commercial webcasters - provide a much-needed outlet for musical diversity (i.e., by providing "airplay" for new artists, artists with a niche following and artists who play unusual genres of music). Webcasting also represents an important and growing source of revenue for record labels, as well as for artists and performers. The CARP rates will enable webcasters to thrive. Contrary to press reports, the evidence strongly suggests that many of the non-commercial webcasters who think the CARP rates will put them out of busines will actually only be required to pay the minimum (and minimal) annual fee of $500. How could our royalty calculations differ so dramatically from the claims of webcasters? Non-commercial webcasters (like a hobbyist) are the targets of a well-orchestrated misinformation campaign. Most of the fee projections reported in the news media make the erroneous assumption that every listener who ever logs into a given non-commercial webcast remains logged into the site 24 hours per day, 7 days per week, 365 days per year. This assumes that no one ever logs off and listeners only visit that particular site. While no one can say for sure what the actual listener's time is, the notion that they stayed logged on 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, is preposterous and the subject of gross exaggerations. We recognize and appreciate that non-commercial broadcasters are a special class of web radio; the rates should accordingly reflect that. We would welcome the opportunity to negotiate a solution. Artists and labels are entitled to be paid for their work-the music recordings on which webcasting businesses are being built. Artists and record companies deserve to be rewarded for the creative contributions that webcasters utilize to build their businesses. Webcasters have many costs, but one of the least expensive is the music that is the foundation of their business. Musicians and artists should not be forced to subsidize the profit margin of webcasters like MTV, Microsoft, AOL TimeWarner and others. The minimum fees are like this: CARP: $500.00 ASCAP: $264.00 BMI: $250.00 Total Fee: $1,014.00 per year ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- ---- On Behalf of Underground Committee and all the Artist, Labels and DJ's represented, we thank you for all your support. The Underground Committee Staff <<<<<For more info please log-on to: http://www.undergroundcommittee.com>>>>> --------------------------------------------------------------------- To unsubscribe, e-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED] For additional commands, e-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
