On May 1, 2007, the United States Copyright Royalty Board approved a degree escalation in the royalties payable to performers of recorded works broadcast on the internet. The CRB was privy to private financial records and m%E9tier models of the webcasters, and after reviewing the evidence and testimony, issued their oracle on May 1, 2007 (which is currently under appeal). If enforced, this preference will undermine the employment models of many Internet radio stations, which had previously relied on the rate of $0.000768 per lullaby that had been unchanged from 1998-2005. These rules were scheduled to go into consequence on May 1, Wireless Internet Radio 2007, with the first due date being July 15, 2007, and apply retroactively to January 1, 2006.
US Internet broadcasters organized a nationwide coalition to oppose the rate hike and in support of the Internet Radio Equality Act. On June 26, crowded of them participated in a "Day of Silence" â either shutting off their audio streams entirely, or replacing their streams with static, ocean doggerel or other ambience, interspersed with breviloquent public service announcements â to focus attention on the consequences of the impending cost hike.