Sanctus Gladius Radio IMPORTANT NEWS regarding the new music laws.

Metal Blessing Radio wrote:Hmm I just checked Streamlicensing and their LOWEST licensing plan has gone up to $59. Yikes and that's before 3rd party hosting fees. That means MBR alone when combining my stream hosting, web hosting and license would be around $75 a month, and another $69 per year for my SSL certificate.

I definitely cant afford that, especially between both of my radio stations. I have been weighing my options. I currently have 3 options:

1. Pay around $120 a month to license both Metal Blessing Radio and White Noise Radio

2. Become a "pirate" internet radio station and run the risk of an unlicensed broadcast

3. Shut down and end a season of my life.

Metal Blessing Radio has been pretty much my life for the last 8 years. It looks like Christian metal radio may be getting killed in one swoop. If at all possible I want at least one of us to stay online.

What you could possibly do is try to merge with 2 or 3 other people. Have it the same thing but a combined "format". Then split the $120 three ways. other than something like that the idea of streaming music or having a music podcast is a thing of the past.

MikeInFla wrote:

Metal Blessing Radio wrote:Hmm I just checked Streamlicensing and their LOWEST licensing plan has gone up to $59. Yikes and that's before 3rd party hosting fees. That means MBR alone when combining my stream hosting, web hosting and license would be around $75 a month, and another $69 per year for my SSL certificate.

I definitely cant afford that, especially between both of my radio stations. I have been weighing my options. I currently have 3 options:

1. Pay around $120 a month to license both Metal Blessing Radio and White Noise Radio

2. Become a "pirate" internet radio station and run the risk of an unlicensed broadcast

3. Shut down and end a season of my life.

Metal Blessing Radio has been pretty much my life for the last 8 years. It looks like Christian metal radio may be getting killed in one swoop. If at all possible I want at least one of us to stay online.

What you could possibly do is try to merge with 2 or 3 other people. Have it the same thing but a combined "format". Then split the $120 three ways. other than something like that the idea or streaming music or having a music podcast is a thing of the past.

I was just thinking of the merge option myself actually. That is definitely an option for any who would want to join in. One of us would maintain their infrastructure and the rest would contribute live shows/podcasts.

Metal Blessing Radio wrote:
I think uploading podcasts to youtube is a bad idea. If you had a license to cover your radio broadcast stream, relaying that stream somewhere else, or posting it elsewhere means that license no longer applies. So if I had a license for MBR and I posted it on youtube the RIAA could still get you for that.

Its been expected in the radio community for awhile that the RIAA will eventually start attacking youtubers and podcasters. Its coming, its just a matter of when..

We are talking about an organization that has sued 11 year old children, grandmothers and even deceased people. They are vultures.

Temple of Blood wrote:I don't think the RIAA has the power to take on YouTube/Google.

70% of youtube videos are probably using copyrighted material.  Do you really think they will let someone take all those views away from them?

Many youtubers stand under the Fair Use Act under Copyright Laws, which has some legitimacy.  
...but that all depends on

- Why you're using it
- How "copyrighted" it is (complicated)
- The Amount Used
- The effects of featuring someone else's work.

There's a thin line between piracy, free advertising and "showing for informational/educational purposes" here, but ultimately, outside of Copyright-this, copyright-that, YouTube takes complaints VERY seriously.  (I subscribe two multiple channels, most of which are "dark top 5, dark top 10" is, and probably 5-6 of those guys had to take down at least 1 video because of a complaint.)

I'm assuming that for radio play, stations have at least asked bands for permission to play their music.
If you've got their permission, that's the brightest green light you can get.

I'm confident that no one (YouTube, RIAA, etc.) will give any YouTube channel grief if they have permission to post the media they're posting.

If they have permission, yes they are in the clear but posting random videos of music on youtube, while people may get away with it most of the time now, I do feel the time will eventually come when it will change. Theoretically YouTube should be responsible for performance royalties for every youtube video view if it contains music.

Seriously though there is nothing to low or despicable for the RIAA, there are many stories you can find of them trying to sue a grandma for millions because a 6 year old downloaded a song and so on.

Apparently last year the RIAA started trying to subpoena youtube to release personal details of violating youtubers so they could sue them individually.

https://torrentfreak.com/riaa-demands-personal-details-of-pirating-youtube-users-140327/

Google has fought for "Fair Use" on youtube though:

http://www.digitaltrends.com/opinion/google-defends-fair-use-on-youtube-against-dmca/

If only ministry was considered a fair use.

You can find most any music you want for free on YouTube.  I'm fairly certain a lot of it is as copyrighted as it could be.  Google makes millions by giving away others' art for free.


They have had years to crack down on this and haven't done a thing.  I see more music on there than ever.  Not to mention TV shows, etc.


I don't think any real crack down is coming.


Not sure it matters why you are giving out all of Led Zeppelin's music for free, just the fact that you are doing it should be enough to run afoul of common sense guidelines.

Our yearly finances went from $1,500.00/year to over $4,000.00! We do an annual fundraiser and I was almost ready to just pull the plug but then we just hit near the halfway mark. It is worth a try guys, I have been doing fundraisers to support my stations for years and I have always exceeded my goal. Just do a gofundme or a preferred fundraiser... what do you have to lose?

Besides that, I wouldn't want to mess with the RIAA. They're just a bunch of greedy lawyers who have nothing better to do than try and get rid of anyone trying to make them money??? I mean, I have been licensed since the start and most of the bands I play haven't seen a dime. But you know what? GOD is bigger so let them try and shut Him down.

There are a few of us who are considering the Merge thing in the vein of Rockradio.com.  However in order to pull that off in such a way as to be able to pay for the license of everyone involved and website hosting and stream hosting etc we would have to do a go fund me or some fundraising like that.    You fans really seem to want to help us stay on air but would enough of you be willing to help fund it to make it possible?  Then once it is started would enough of you be willing to help keep it going via continued financial support or for you businesses through advertising support?  What about a possible subscription possibliity?

Personally I don't think that people should have to pay to listen to Christian radio, that severely limits its evangelistic value.

That sounds like a good idea lhversaw I think you all can build a shop also and sell shirts, used CDs and other stuffs, that may add a bit more to keep the different stations alive, I am not a regular listener but I could contribute to keep you guys going spreading the Message

Metal Blessing Radio wrote:Personally I don't think that people should have to pay to listen to Christian radio, that severely limits its evangelistic value.

True for non believers listeners, but for those who are grown and matured in Christ can help the guys keeping the stations alive

StreamLicensing.com just increased its base cost from $39.50 to $59.50 USD per month.  That base fee only allows for under $20 USD monthly gross income and under 4000 TLH (Total Listening Hours).  I will not make an assumption at what the TLH for the current radio stations are, but, if they go beyond that...the price climbs quickly.  

Music podcasts are no longer covered simply by a single license.  I am forced to go through each ASCAP, BMI, SESAC, SOCAN and SoundExchange.  The cost to keep my podcast going is roughly $80 USD per month now.  So, The Master's Metal as a podcast is finished.  If we can keep a radio station going, however, I would love to go live broadcast again!

Here is what I would like to do with everybody who is willing...

We can setup a GoFundMe, IndieGoGo or Patreon to secure donations to get this going.  There are a LOT of people wanting to help and I have little doubt that we can make this happen!

IDEA 1:  We merge all of the current Christian Rock/Metal radio stations into a single entity.  We fill this station with all of the current live broadcast and podcast shows, as well as a random play rotation in between.  

IDEA 2:  We do something like http://www.rockradio.com/ where there is a single website entity, with several different radio stations (each featuring different styles of Rock an Metal).  

What we need to do is get everybody interested in these ideas (or your own) together for a conversation on Skype or my Discord VOIP server to find a common solution.

I am definitely onboard with a merger of stations. I remember back in the day James Mattern approached me about merging with what was at the time Blabberjesus radio. At that time I was against merging because I felt that took away from the options available to prospective listeners. Unlike secular stations we don't have the luxury of channel surfing with Christian metal.

However with the current situation I think merging and splitting costs may be a wise decision. My TLH is below 4000. We would need to discuss details for sure, we could also start a facebook groupchat as well. I have had those in the past and they work.

I don't know who is best equipped to host the actual stream but I do have a licensed copy of SAM Broadcaster on a dedicated broadcasting pc at home. I believe David also probably has a SAM license. It doesn't matter to me who handles the actual hardware part but that can be figured out with discussion.

I believe that you and I are the only two with SAM Broadcaster?  Although, my bandwidth is rather dismal at the moment due to financial constraints.  

We can use the "Christian Rock & Metal DJ's" Facebook group that we started a while back to discuss this.  

Does anyone know who does Christian Armor Radio?  They're apparently already using StreamLicensing.

Garrison4JC wrote:I believe that you and I are the only two with SAM Broadcaster?  Although, my bandwidth is rather dismal at the moment due to financial constraints.  

We can use the "Christian Rock & Metal DJ's" Facebook group that we started a while back to discuss this.  

I didn't see this post before I created the FB chat. We can keep the chat or move it there, doesn't matter to me. It doesn't take too much bandwidth to run a single stream, upstream is a separate bandwidth from downstream. I'm ok with hosting but as far as live relay handovers go I am not too familiar with that.

The only problems for me are that I currently only have the capability to serve 1 stream through my single copy of SAM, and depending how much involvement is necessary when cutting over to another live DJ I may not have optimal availability for that.

All of my shows were live, however other shows such as Masters Metal and so on I aired the recorded podcasts, so never had to deal with relays.

https://thecmr.forumotion.com/t8953-heavensmetalradio-com#167538

Interesting to see that Doug Van Pelt is throwing his hat into the ring.

Wow. What an informative thread. I didn't know anything about this. I don't listen to i-radio much. I found this article that talks about the situation. There's a part about a petition at the end of it. It may be worth the look.
http://www.radiosurvivor.com/2016/01/05/why-american-independent-internet-radio-may-go-extinct-in-2016/

Hi.  I am the one who runs Christian Armor Radio.  Saw the post above - looks like I decided to check out CMR at the right time.  It's true, I am currently using Streamlicensing, and have been doing so since the summer of 2013.  Their fees went up twice in the last month due to royalty fee increases, and are $59.50 a month if you have 4000 TLH (total listening hours) or under and up to $20 of revenue from the station.  I've been selling CD's and started a GoFundMe campaign in my efforts to keep broadcasting.  I'd like to continue further dialog on this subject.  I have asked to join the Christian rock and metal dj's facebook group, so I'm looking forward to discussing things there.  Hope to talk with you soon! Check us out at www.caradio.net

Glad you made it here, Sam-e.

I signed that petition. I'm not involved in internet radio, but I want to help those who are.

It would be nice if there was a grant, financial assistance or tax write-off in the meantime.

Hi Sam, I'm not an admin on the page but I'm sure David or Larry will add you soon. If you want to add me on FB I can add you to our group chat. I'm Blake Sherwin

sam-e, the doc of rock wrote:Hi.  I am the one who runs Christian Armor Radio.  Saw the post above - looks like I decided to check out CMR at the right time.  It's true, I am currently using Streamlicensing, and have been doing so since the summer of 2013.  Their fees went up twice in the last month due to royalty fee increases, and are $59.50 a month if you have 4000 TLH (total listening hours) or under and up to $20 of revenue from the station.  I've been selling CD's and started a GoFundMe campaign in my efforts to keep broadcasting.  I'd like to continue further dialog on this subject.  I have asked to join the Christian rock and metal dj's facebook group, so I'm looking forward to discussing things there.  Hope to talk with you soon! Check us out at www.caradio.net

Sam I am not seeing a request to join that group however if you friend me on facebook I will add you to the group.  I am easy to find on facebook.  Larry Versaw and it is the picture with Demon Hunter.

lhversaw wrote:

sam-e, the doc of rock wrote:Hi.  I am the one who runs Christian Armor Radio.  Saw the post above - looks like I decided to check out CMR at the right time.  It's true, I am currently using Streamlicensing, and have been doing so since the summer of 2013.  Their fees went up twice in the last month due to royalty fee increases, and are $59.50 a month if you have 4000 TLH (total listening hours) or under and up to $20 of revenue from the station.  I've been selling CD's and started a GoFundMe campaign in my efforts to keep broadcasting.  I'd like to continue further dialog on this subject.  I have asked to join the Christian rock and metal dj's facebook group, so I'm looking forward to discussing things there.  Hope to talk with you soon! Check us out at www.caradio.net

Sam I am not seeing a request to join that group however if you friend me on facebook I will add you to the group.  I am easy to find on facebook.  Larry Versaw and it is the picture with Demon Hunter.

Turns out it did let me approve him

Here is an email I received this morning from streamhosting in regards to the rate increase.. We need everyone to read it and follow it as it may be our savior...

(This email is sent to all who were Affiliates as of a few days ago.) The first step in moving forward to regain reduced fees by bringing back the Small Webcasters Agreement is here and the time has arrived. While my attorneys continue to work behind the scenes, we webcasters and providers need to unite and start building momentum. This first phase is primarily to get behind a unified group pushing for success and begin telling our story to all who will listen and especially to those who can ultimately influence the outcome.

Four initial steps:

1) I encourage you to send this email to your stream host providers, to other webcasters, anyone else you think of that would get involved.

2) Sign up yourself and encourage your listeners to sign up at http://www.radiodiversity.org/ I may not always promote this website, John Draper, here at StreamLicensing, has a beta version that has been ready for months. However, at this time I think it is wiser to unite with this already recognized group. If as time moves forward we need to use our own website and action page I'll let you know. So I'm encouraging you to move as many as possible to sign up at http://www.radiodiversity.org/  At least one Affiliate also has a good call-to-action website that I maybe sharing in the future.

3) If you haven't already please read the following two articles for more background information. Once you have digested them, please share them with as many as you possibly can: As you know, legislative action is where it will have to go ultimately. http://www.radioworld.com/article/crb-ruling-is-%E2%80%9Ccrushingly-bad-news%E2%80%9D-for-microcasters/277856 and the second article: http://rainnews.com/small-webcasters-enter-the-unknown-of-2016/  As you read, please note that StreamLicensing fees are not being presently based on the CRB/SoundExchange commercial rate. However,  if we don't bring back the Small Webcasters Agreement before the end of the year, our fees will have to increase to the commercial level as shown in these news articles.

4) Putting links to the pages referenced in 2 and 3, above on your websites would be a great help as you promote bringing back the Small Webcasters Fee structure.

We small broadcasters have been hit with two major increases: ASCAP and CRB/SoundExchange. We can't do much about ASCAP other than pay it, but we have the opportunity to bring rates back at least partially to affordable levels. We can do this as we unite and work what is ultimately going to be a legislative process to regain affordable performance fees as administered by SoundExchange.

I won't be able to reply individually to your responses to this email but I want to thank your for all you are doing to help small webcasters have a continued future.

Marvin