OK guys, this is really important and I’m trying to get the word out.  Before I explain anything, I want everyone to check out Pandora.  It’s this really cool internet radio station where you can enter a band or song you like, and it makes a radio station based on your input.  They basically analyze various characteristics of the song or band and find other songs and bands like it.  As you discover new bands on the radio station, you can continue to customize your radio station by adding more bands and songs.  If you hate a song that’s played on the station, you call tell Pandora never to play it again, and your settings are updated.  It’s an amazing service (US only unfortunately) and it’s in serious trouble!

 The U.S. government has recently passed a law which forces Pandora and other internet radio stations to pay a HUGE flat fee in addition to the fees they pay as a percentage of their revenue in order to play copyrighted material, far more than terrestrial stations have to play.  Since many of these stations aren’t very cash rich, it will force almost all of them out of business and really cool services like Pandora and last.fm will vanish.

So what can you do?  Click the link in my sidebar and visit SaveNetRadio.org to get more information and contact your local representative and senator.  Let them know you want to save internet radio.

 Also, let me know what you think of Pandora!