[State Representative/Congressman/Etc.]





My name is [Your Full Name] and I am a fan of independent Internet 


broadcasting, also known as "Web Radio" or "Internet Radio", an entertainment


medium which is facing possible extinction at the hands of the RIAA (Recording


Industry Association of America) political machine.





I write to you today out of grave concern for the future of freedom for 


Internet broadcasters, independent recording artists and the listening public


in regards to the CARP report issued by the United States Copyright Office 


(Docket No. 2000-9 CARP DTRA1&2) and the Notice and Record keeping for Use of 


Sound Recordings Under Statutory License (Docket No. RM 2002-1 37 CFR Part 201)


as well as to ask that you and your colleagues re-examine the DMCA (Digital 


Millennium Copyright Act).





The DMCA amendments lobbied for by the RIAA  that changed language in the DPRA 


(Digital Performance Right Act) that dealt with sound recording copyright 


performance royalties before these new laws can be abused by the RIAA and 


entities like it to completely wipe out independent internet broadcasters 


through what amounts to nothing but legislated extortion.





Independent Internet broadcasting stations offer a bastion of freedom for 


program directors, DJs, independent recording artists, independent talk shows, 


independent news, and the listening public. The unique programming found on 


many internet-only broadcasts is essential to the continued growth of the 


medium, and continued exposure to new artists from around the world has done 


nothing but helped the music industry as a whole, not hurt is as the RIAA 


would have everyone believe. 





It is important to understand that Internet broadcasters are not pirating 


music, and it is a gross miscarriage of justice that they be treated as though


they are engaged in a criminal behavior simply to further stuff the coffers 


of the "Big 5" record labels whose financial interests the RIAA represents 


under the guise of protecting artist's rights.





In a recent hearing Senator Hatch commented to the record companies "We passed 


the DMCA. We gave you a lot of what you wanted. You told us without it you 


wouldn't put your content out. Now you still haven't put any of your content 


out. What's going on? Are you leveraging your copyrights to impede distribution


rather than enhance distribution?" 





I believe Senator Hatch is coming to realize that the intentions offered by the


labels in regards to the DMCA amendments are not as honorable as they 


proclaimed them to be. I believe that members of Congress were being misled at 


the committee hearing where these amendments were written. 





It is time the RIAA's true intentions are examined openly and the flawed 


amendments made in the DMCA are revisited. No good can come of a world where 


self-appointed media police run unchecked using their financial and political 


muscle to strip the consumer of their basic freedoms to choose what forms of 


entertainment they wish to enjoy and how they wish to enjoy them.





In conclusion, I respectfully call upon your sense of justice and fair play and


ask you to reexamine the terms for sound recording copyright performance 


royalty fees being instituted on Internet broadcasters in the DMCA. Thank you


for your time and attention.





Sincerely, 





[Your Name], Concerned Citizen





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