Today is the day when most (*cough* Last.fm *cough*) Internet radio sites are going “silent” to protest the forthcoming rate changes that threaten all of their existences. FranticIndustries does a great job outlining the situation for those uninformed.

Basically the RIAA is screwing the new guys. Some of these Internet radio services like Pandora have millions of users and it’s that success that will ultimately be their doom under the new pay-per-track-per-listener fee. This is exactly why I’ve called out for Google’s help – even with the new fees, Google could likely afford to eat the costs if they got to spread more of their ads on the player pages. Google already buys so many companies each month, why not step in and buy a Pandora and spread the “do no evil” mantra a little farther.

There have been grumblings that Facebook is looking to enter the Internet radio foray as well – and perhaps they are another company that could afford to eat such huge costs, but the fact remains that these stations shouldn’t need some big companies backing them. Even Yahoo is participating in the Day of Silence to show their displeasure with the whole situation. You can show yours by visiting SaveNetRadio.org, otherwise the sound may permanently die on July 15th.