[cma-l] Fwd: If you thought Ofcom's RSL licence charges were toohigh.....

[david.gates at skylinecommunityradio.co.uk]

Here Here about time 

 David Gates 

Skyline Radio

 ----- Original Message -----
 From: Glyn Roylance glyn at glossfm.org
 To: cma-l at mailman.commedia.org.uk
 Sent: Sat 4:45 PM
 Subject: Fwd: [cma-l] If you thought Ofcom's RSL licence charges were
toohigh.....

….then there is a golden opportunity for you to make this point, as
Ofcom are holding a consultation on WT Licence charges.  You can read
about it and see how to respond here:  

I'd advise this really is an opportunity not to be missed.  We have
responded by email, copied to our MP. You may also respond online or by
post.  The text of our response is copied below.  Come on guys…! 

 Severnvale Media CIC is a not for profit organisation that runs a
community radio station in South Gloucestershire called GLOSS FM. Both
Severnvale Media CIC and GLOSS FM are staffed entirely by volunteers. The
station has operated two 1 month RSL broadcasts per year since it started
in November 2005. In addition it broadcasts 365 days a year on the
internet.  

  
 Severnvale Media CIC were disappointed to read that RSL licensing charges
have not been reviewed in this consultation. As a voluntary organisation,
we find that funds are extremely scarce, and so considerable time and
effort is spent in attracting advertising revenue. This detracts from
volunteer time available to deliver our social gain and community service
objectives.  

Alongside music royalty fees, the RSL radio licensing costs are a huge
burden to the station, so much so it almost seems like a penalty charge. 
 We fully acknowledge that a contribution towards administrative expenses
is required for RSL licenses. However given the scale of charges we have
to pay for each broadcast we find it hard to believe that this accurately
reflects administrative costs. If it does, then we ask an open question
whether the administrative efficiency of the RSL licensing process should
be reviewed. The costs seem even harder to understand when often we are
asking for the same height and power from the same location as previous
licences. We are also at a loss to understand an apparent 4000% pro-rata
premium for RSL spectrum versus spectrum for full time Community Radio
(CR) licences.   

 We have read about and broadly agree with the Government’s plans for
the “Big Society”. However we find it hard to understand why a group
of people like GLOSS FM trying to contribute to their communities have to
pay such a high cost of entry which feels like a tax or penalty charge.  

 We propose that RSL radio licensing charges are reviewed for RSL stations
that have a clear and measurable input to their local community that
results in social gain and general community spirit. RSL’s with purely
commercial aims should still pay the same or more than currently. The two
types of RSL stations could perhaps be distinguished by requiring
compliance to a suitable statement in the application form requiring
community service, or alternatively through expectation of a kind of
“lightweight key commitments” like full time community radio stations.

 -- 
 GLOSS FM now broadcasting on 87.7FM across South Gloucestershire
 .
 Why not download the GLOSS FM browser toolbar for easy access to radio
player, local information and more!

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