Today is a national "Day of Silence" by Web broadcasters across the country to demonstrate how Internet radio could sound in about three weeks -- unless Congress reverses a royalty increase.

88Nine Radio Milwaukee's free Internet stream (and others around the country) are silent for 24 hours to symbolically demonstrate the pending impact of a recent federal copyright ruling.

The March decision by the federal Copyright Royalty Board, which oversees sound recording royalties paid by Internet radio services, increased Internet radio's royalty burden between 300 percent and 1,200 percent and has jeopardized the future of web radio (while increasing payments to the musicians who create the music. –ed.)

"RadioMilwaukee is participating in the Day of Silence because this is one of the best ways to accomplish two goals: raise awareness of the threat posed to free Internet radio and demonstrate what will be lost if Internet radio is forced to go silent," said J. Mikel Ellcessor, Executive Director of Radio For Milwaukee, which operates 88Nine RadioMilwaukee.

The coalition is supporting the Internet Radio Equality Act (H.R. 2060 and S. 1353), recently introduced bills that will save Internet radio from the devastating royalty fee increases that will put thousands of Internet Web casters out of business on July 15.