We heard from Roger Randolph with The Bluegrass Mix, who is happy to report that their 24/7 bluegrass streaming service is back on the air after being dark for the past few weeks.
In mid-February, after new royalty rates for music streaming on line were announced, Roger was forced to pull the plug, projecting that they could not possibly afford to pay the fees that were being charged. He said that when his January bill came in from SoundExchange, it was more than 10 times what he had been paying previously.
But fortunately for fans of the free, listener-supported Bluegrass Mix, a group of festival promoters have agreed to sponsor the service, and Roger and all his volunteer show hosts are back online.
Randolph says he and all the hosts are delighted to be back on the cyber-air.
“We had such a BIG outpouring of emails and messages on social media about shutting down. It was REALLY difficult to walk away from the stream, and when I was contacted that weekend after about a group wanting to sponsor us I started re-evaluating the move…
Soooo… We’re BAAAAACCCCKKKK!
I’d like to thank ALL of the listeners for hanging in there with and for us. The hosts were anxious to get back to their shows too.
Looking forward to a GREAT Bluegrass 2016!”
The signal is available at www.thebluegrassmix.com. If you enjoy the service, keep in mind that listener donations help keep the lights on. Even a few dollars each month can make a big difference if enough folks donate. Recurring donations can be very easily set up via PaylPal at The Bluegrass Mix web site.
They also offer a number of logo clothing and novelty items for sale which also help cover royalty fees. Check them out online.
Welcome back Bluegrass Mix!
