• by June 22, 2007

Yahoo, MTV Online, Live365, Rhapsody, Accuradio, Pandora and thousands of other Internet radio sites will go silent this coming Tuesday, June 26, according to an announcement late yesterday afternoon by the SaveNetRadio coalition, which was formed to fight upcoming rate increases set by the Copyright Royalty Board.

The "National Day of Silence," by emulating what coalition members warn will happen if the rates actually take effect next month, is seen as a way to mobilize supporters to urge Congressional passage of the corrective Internet Radio Equality Act.

The coalition said many webcasters will shut off their streams entirely on Tuesday, while others will broadcast occasional announcements about the impending rate increase.

The day of reckoning is July 15th, when 17 months of higher retroactive royalty payments are due to the SoundExchange collection organization.