Last Friday’s disclosure of new copyright rates for internet radio could kill legit operators who claim they won’t be able to afford the new rate structure.

The story isn’t getting much mainstream attention – but Wired Magazine claims internet radio is vowing to fight back…

Internet radio companies big and small are revving up for a fight with the Copyright Royalty Board that could lead to the halls of Congress and — some fear — the end of streaming music stations in the United States.

The panicked preparation follows last Friday’s buzz-killing bombshell: As 50 million or so online radio listeners geared up for their weekends, the board released new royalty rates representing a potential tenfold increase webcasters would have to pay out.

Almost every analyst claims the new rates will put internet radio deeply into the red, based on current revenue models.

No word yet on whether any of these large US players are checking out rack-space in dot cee eh yet. (um, for my US friends, that’s Canada, eh?)