The Copyright Review Board dealt a serious blow to Internet Radio today, when it denied a request to reconsider its March ruling that would greatly increase fees broadcasters pay to copyright holders. The original ruling called for a serious escalation of fees, to the point where most small, medium, and even large Internet radio broadcasters would not be able to afford to continue broadcasting. Most Internet radio experts I talked to back in March believed that this initial ruling was just a starting point–that sure, the CRB had basically adopted a fee structure proposed by SoundExchange (a.k.a. the people who would be collecting the fees), and that while that was unfortunate, things would work themselves out in the appeal process. This wasn’t the first time Internet Radio had been declared dead, and this type of ‘negotiation’ was just part of the process. Maybe not, though. Today’s decision means that process will take a lot longer, if it happens at all. According to the Radio and Internet Newsletter, the final decision must be published in the Federal Register within 60 days, at which point it can be appealed to the U.S. Court of Appeals in D.C. And here’s […]