This was interesting to me because out of all of the senators and representives it was sent to he was the only one that responded.
Yes I do understand it wasn't directly from him, but the fact that SOMEONE took the time to read my e-mail (even if it was an autoresponse).
Dear Tracy:
Thank you for contacting me regarding the Copyright Royalty Board's rate increase decision and its effect on small webcasters. I appreciate hearing your thoughts on this issue.
The royalty rate for webcasters has proven to be a controversial subject, with small webcasters hoping to become viable, competitive alternatives to large commercial radio stations. As you point out, many of these small webcasters offer a variety of music unavailable to a wide audience through other sources.
Regulations set by the enactment of the Small Webcasters Settlement Act of 2002, which favored small webcasters, recently expired and the regulations had to be revisited. As you know, in March, 2007, the Copyright Royalty Board issued its decision, which establishes new rates for commercial and noncommercial webcasters. The Board considered the comments of small commercial webcasters, who sought continuation of a fee based solely according to revenue. Ultimately, the Board rejected this benefit for small webcasters, opting instead for a flat-rate fee and a per song per listener basis. When making this decision, the Board cited the difficulty of distinguishing small and large commercial webcasters, as well as their own lack of statutory authority to carve out royalty rate niches for the emergent business models promoted by small commercial webcasters.
The Board's decision can be revised through legislative action, and it is likely that the Senate will examine this issue. I will certainly keep your thoughts in mind when it does.
Again, thank you for raising this issue with me. Please stay in touch.
Sincerely,
Barack Obama
United States Senator
P.S. Our system does not allow direct response to this email. However, if you would like to contact me again, please use the form on the website: http://obama.senate.gov/contact/
Stay up to date with Barack's work in the Senate and on issues of importance to Illinois. Subscribe to the weekly podcast here: http://obama.senate.gov/podcast/
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