On March 2, 2007, The U.S. Copyright Royalty Board determined that net radio operators should pay a high climbing rate fee from 2006 retroactively to 2010. The fee would cost net radio stations more than satellite radio pays right now – from 60% to 300% of net radio’s earnings. The decision is set to activate on July 15 of this year.

Asthmatic Kitty Records officially thinks this stinks. We support net lobbying against this legislation like SaveNetRadio.org, and the efforts of Senators Ron Wyden (D-Oregon) and Sam Brownback (R-Kansas) to introduce a bill that would repeal the Board’s decision.

We hope you thank these two Senators, and visit SaveNetRadio.org to see what else you can do to fight this unfair rate hike.

Congratulations to one of our favorite music related websites, Daytrotter, as they hit their first birthday this week! That’s like 16 years in Indie-Time!

If you’re one of the few who doesn’t visit daytrotter.com every 45 minutes to see what new content they’ve posted, you should be. Their website is an oasis of deft and hefty writing on independent music in what is a desert of floaty news and mp3 aggregation. These guys seriously know how to lay it on thick when it comes to studio sessions and insightful feature writing. Click on more to see their Asthmatic Kitty related content for examples.

To Daytrotter, we hope for many more years like this one!

• Castanets/Black Heart Procession: Culprits For Murderous Thoughts
• The Curtains: As Luck Would Have It
• Shapes and Sizes: Children Going Mad
• A Week With Sufjan Stevens’ "The Avalanche"
• My Brightest Diamond: A Study Of The Four C’s In A Clandestine Glow
• My Brightest Diamond: The Female Jeff Buckley Can Make You A Weeper Too

Last week at SXSW, we ran a showcase and held a day party. We’d heard that Austin locals aren’t particularly welcoming of SXSW. Austin proved that rumor completely unfounded.

At both of our events, Austin locals were so welcoming, we were ready to move and become one ourself.
Emo’s hosted our Thursday night showcase, and their entire staff was professional and friendly. They kept the club clean and the bar well stocked the whole night. Daytrotter, a content-packed website no doubt read by many people in Austin, sponsored the Thursday night showcase.

Then, for our Saturday day party, several local businesses helped us out. The fruit juice from the award winning Goodflow Honey & Juice Company was not only hearty but also refreshing. Local brewery Saint Arnold sent over a few cases of root beer, which tasted as if they had carefully handcrafted every bottle. The brownies from Miles of Chocolate were so succulent and complex that they fully satisfied our sweet teeth for a long time to come. Okay Mountain Gallery (just behind the pinata shop!) let us hang out on their lawn and listen to great music for the final afternoon of SXSW. KTRU in nearby Houston promoted both events, and provided excellent company at each. Finally, Nick Hennies of the Austin’s own Weird Weeds spearheaded the Saturday party and curated the band roster.

If you live in Austin, you probably already know about all these local businesses and organizations, but if these are new to you, we recommend each with all our heart.

All in all, everything was a success because Austinians helped us out. Thanks Austin! We owe you one!