It's fine that I - as a European - am allowed to hear nothing, too ;)

Hi,

I have called my congressman, senator and our Govenor. Senator Hatch's office had received other calls on this subject. All said they would pass my vote to save internet radio along to the proper party.

I had emailed them before when I first heard of the plight.

Shelley from Utah

"Call you congressperson today"

She is already co-sponsoring the Internet Radio Equality Act!! Yay for living in a progressive city such as Madison, WI.

-A

P.S. While I'm not an internet radio broadcaster, I am a listener, and have also taken my site down for the day... Also, so have at least 1 of the major radio themed message boards.

Hey Tim, if the law goes bad in the U.S. is there anyway you could broadcast from Canada or another country?

I don't know the internet radio rules here in the Great White North, but I do know that I miss my Pandora since its gone U.S. only!!

Emailed my reps today (not able to call at work). I asked them to support the bill as an imperfect solution, however: does Pandora have an explanation why the CRB passed these regulations? Savenetradio claims it was 'at the request' of the RIAA, but that doesn't really explain anything- why these changes now, and in what ways did the radio net 'community' try to influence the proceedings before they were decided (some commentators argue that sites did nothing to stop the new actions and now are paying for the inaction)?

Also, is there some chance of compromise? Soundexchange has a proposed alternative on its website that looks a little weak, but I wonder if this adversarial method is not going to end up being a pyrrhic victory for whoever comes out on top.

Hope that the bill passes, but I'm not sure it'll last as a solution.

Where's my music?... I've already mailed and called both of my Senators and my Representative; I don't need a day of silence. My work productivity is deteriorating rapidly. Bring the music back! You can end this suffering. Instead of music to help me focus, I'm forced to resort to intravenous coffee absorption and tantric breathing. Save me! I'm a Pandora addict! I can't take this any longer.

Thank you for supporting Internet Radio. :)

I called my senators today. My representative already has co-sponsored the act. I hope it makes a difference. It would be tragic to see the diversity of Internet Radio disappear.

Counting the hours until I get my Pandora back.... *twitch*

I called the people that mattered for my area about the Internet Equality Act. They had a few previous calls, but nothing crazy. I made sure to tell them what Pandora and others are doing today with the "silence". It's, in a way, like standing in front of us listeners with a sandwitch signs asking us to stand outside in Washington D.C. .. I'm complying and that's the message I wanted to get across. When we make or listen to music we are freeing ourselves from the world and that is exactly what big business does not want us to feel. They want to force us to listen to the same ten songs over and over as the same fifteen adds take up most of the time. Or, they want us to pay for eighty stations when they know we'll only listen to one or two. This is about money, our money, and we do have a voice. I've called eleven of my friends that I've turned on to Pandora in the past and asked them to call in as well.

Your ~~VOICE~~ needs to be ~~LOUDER~~. Politicians don't pull for the underdog unless the underdog is making life hard on them. Purple Nerple time.. go go go!

Called all of mine just a few minutes ago. One's mailbox is full, and several times it just would give a connection error (I hope, from a large amount of calls), the other representative took my vote and zip code down to pass to my congressman. The person on the other side of the phone actually sounded -glad- that I was calling, and knew what it was, so I am sure many are calling.

Thank you for doing this, as painful as it is to be without Pandora right now, it will hopefully get more people involved. And good luck, not just to you, but to all the broadcasters out there that stand to be wiped out by the RIAA's unreasonable path.

Thank you for Pandora. What is most frustrating to me (and I hope the artists) is that at least the last 10 albums I have bought (in the last 2 months) were bought solely from my listening to Pandora. I would have never gotten the exposure to those artists, and now they have more money in there pockets because of it. Thank goodness for them. The sad thing is, is that I have asked 10 people the same question today, and have all said that their buying habits have been heavily influenced by internet radio. Here's to hoping that the RIAA doesn't win.

I just wanted to thank you for encouraging people to do something about this, rather than sitting back and pissing about how unfair it is.

I'm calling as soon as I get out of work.

Thanks again--big, big fan of the site.

You should be playing EXTRA music today...extra loud. boo.

Thank you for being you Pandora. I have done all I can think of besides storming the gates of the RIAA. You have my unwavering support. I cannot thank you enough for all of the great music you have turned me onto. America is so fucking ass backwards and illogical for doing this, and I fear that the retardation will not go away. I hope you stick around forever, or else it will be a very, very sad goodbye for me..
Mr. Ekted

I'm a fan of this site, and I'm all for contacting your congressman about this issue. I called my representives to complain and got my friends to do the same.

If you indeed have less than a month left before you may potentially have to shut down, I think its irresponsible to take a full day of silence.

I want the radio back.

This is just stupid. I have been using Pandora for months as an alternative to iTunes; I never realized that you guys would just take away my music player for an entire day to make some obscure political point.

Your whole demonstration just points out to your loyal users that we CAN'T rely on internet radio.

I emailed my three representatives. MANNNNNN! ITS SO QUIET HERE!!!

Wish I could listen to some good music.

Thanks a ton everyone. Sorry about the busy signals - though it's actually a good sign. That seems to be happending everywhere... the offices are getting buried in calls!

This kind of grassroots reaction is an incredibly powerful force in DC. Internet radio is a young industry, but with such terrific fans we're tough :)

Tim (Founder)

*Sigh*

Too bad this deal was sealed back in 2002 when the last "Save Internet Radio" decided to play ball with the evildoers. I predicted this exact scenario, as there is no other result obtainable when wrestlin' with pigs.

Your only hope is massive defiance, not begging criminals for the right to exist. Of course, as long as people believe in the fallacy that DC is representative of anything other one man enslaving another, then there is no hope, as the trap has sprung shut. Freedom is never the result of enslavement, yet where does everyone go to look for it? Why they ask permission from the masters, never once thinking about being their own master.

The only legitimacy the masters have is force of violence, which works only because it is fully supported by the slaves themselves.

I'll point out though, that you have violated our service agreement. I did not pay you to be a political activist. Even worse, I never paid you to sell me out to the criminals who you prostrate yourself to.

I'd rather see the entire music industry disappear, than to see it be used to further trap us. If streaming music goes away, you have no one to blame but yourself.

On the other hand, if you claim your freedom and ignore the criminals, and keep broadcasting anyway, I'll support you all the way.

When Ghandi was faced with England's enslavement, did he ask their permission to exist? No, he recognized his right to own himself, and dictated terms back to them. When ignored, he acted on his own, marching to the sea to make his own salt, knowing what was right was more important than what was allowed.

Depending on the criminals who enslave us for the right to exist is just a slower form of suicide.

Thank you for illustrating your plight in such a vivid and stark manner. I plan on writing handwritten letters to each of New Mexico's congresspeople.

On a side note, I would love to see a Genome-driven web-based text utility where the user enters the name of a song or artist, and the program spits out a list of the first ten songs that Pandora would play.

There would be no royalties to pay simply for song recommendations, and you could link to a variety of online stores from which we could buy them instantly (with a "finders fee" going to you guys, of course). Less bandwidth required than a blog post!

I have called my congressman. I had E-mailed him when I first heard about it. He's been consistently E-mailing me and sending me letters letting me know what's going on. He seems to be listening to me. I hope I've made a difference.

Please! Enough with this day of silence. Just play music.

I've got a bad feeling that this fight is lost. If it's going to take Congressional action to save the industry, then Internet radio is dead. The Music industry has very good lobbyists, and they are now armed with a decision from a "fair and impartial" judiciary body.

The uncomfortable truth for the Music Industry is that they are no longer needed. Music creation, promotion, and distribution can be done completely outside of thier business processes. What I recently came to realize is that Internet Radio poses a potentially more significant threat beyond any caused by copyright infringement. What would happen if Pandora merged with splicemusic.com and began attracting some talent?

I called all three of my Reps for the state of Florida. All of their mailboxes are currently full. Hopefull they are overwhelmed by free internet radio callers. Pandora is great. I hope we prevail.

I'm not proud of it, but i have to say i never care about political stuff nor do i even care to vote....but since Pandora is down its time i take a roll in government. Today for the first time in my life i hand wrote my congressman "Dennis Hastert"

I really hope he takes this seriously because I'm going insane today. Imagine a lifetime without Pandora!!

All I have to say is that all the CDs I have on my rack were bought because Pandora helped me find good music that I like in every sense which I want to hear in my car and my Mp3 player. If sites like this go away, how the am I going to know what to buy anymore?

You can still listen to music here, just open a google cache version of Pandora.com

Of course, the real front page will probably be up in 30 minutes

I really hope we can keep services like Pandora. They help find new, interesting artists and as a result are generating money.

I cannot see the ethics behind upping the fees.

I must tell, that yesterday in the 'Internet Radio - Day of Silence' I felt like cripple, something was missing to me all day at work...

Keep on going on and do your best to keep it alive...

Eran.

I, like everyone else, felt sad and lonely at work yesterday without pandora on my speakers.

I called all three representatives in my area in hopes they will support HR206.

‘til July 15th, I shall keep my fingers crossed.

Dear Roland :

Thank you for contacting me regarding H.R. 2060, the Internet Radio Equality Act. I appreciate hearing from you.

Like you, I feel strongly that webcasters sh ould be able to reach as many listeners as possible. This is why I have signed on as cosponsor of H.R. 2060, the Internet Radio Equality Act. As you know, this legislation rectifies the recent Copyright Royalty Board (CRB) decision to establish royalty pay ments to musicians and performing artists based on each performance. Instead, H.R. 2060 would institute rates at .33 cents per hour and listener or 7.5% of yearly webcaster revenues. H.R. 2060 would also set mandates for future CRB decisions, requiring the Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Communications and Information and the Federal Communications Commission to submit respective reports on the effect of proposed decisions on the Internet webcasting market. Additionally, the Corporation for Public Broad casting would be required to submit a report to Congress addressing the effect of future CRB decisions on their licensees and permittees . These studies would work towards balancing the needs of webcasters , performers, and internet listeners, in order to en sure the survival of a vital resource for musicians and fans alike.

As you know, this is not the first time this issue has been before Congress. In the 107th Congress, I cosponsored The Internet Radio Fairness Act (H.R. 5285) and voted for the Small Web caster Amendments Act of 2002 (H.R. 5469). The Small Webcaster Amendments Act of 2002 was signed into law on December 4, 2002. It amended the Copyright Royalty Board's 2002 rate increase establishing the rate system that exists today. I have consistently s upported radio webcasting on the internet in the past and continue to do so with my current cosponsorship of H.R. 2060.

Again, thank you for contacting me. If I can be of further assistance, please do not hesitate to contact me again regarding this or ot her issues of concern.

Sincerely,

Rick Larsen
United States Representative
Washington State, 2nd District

Internet broadcasters like Pandora have done more for the music industry that the folks at the RIAA will ever admit. Since starting to listen to Pandora I've found many new artists, whose CDs I've purchased, and renewed my interest in lots of those artists that I used to listen to on vinyl, which I'm now replacing with newly purchased CDs.

This CRB fiasco is representative of our government and industry at it's worst. Let's all keep pulling for our rights as consumers of music, for which we are willing to pay a fair price!

I am listening to your gospel music and I am very blessed by your music thank - you for giving me an alternative to listen to. Peace