For fans of Internet radio, it's all about the sound. The sound of old songs that they love. The sound of new music they can't get anywhere else.

The problem is that ticking sound.

Time is running out on free online music after a federal panel in March ordered drastic increases in royalty fees paid to compensate performers and record companies.

Many Webcasters -- the Internet disc jockeys who stream their favorite music around the world -- said the new rates, which were to go into effect today and were to be retroactive to January 2006, would force them to pull the plug on their operations. Hundreds of small Webcasters already have shut down.

However, a Friday meeting between SoundExchange, the music industry group, and representatives of the Internet radio broadcasters produced a commitment toward a compromise and sent a sigh of relief -- albeit temporary -- through computer headphones everywhere.

The talks, held in Washington, D.C., came after a nationwide outcry from fans of Internet music spurred some members of Congress to get the two sides together.

"The good news is that the record industry made a commitment to the congressmen that they would enter serious negotiations and that they wouldn't sue the Webcasters if they continued to Webcast," said Kurt Hanson, CEO of Internet-based AccuRadio.com in Chicago. "It's not in writing; it was verbal. But it was delivered verbally in front of congressmen, so I think everyone's pretty confident that the record industry will honor it."

It buys the Webcasters time, but it doesn't resolve the matter.

Each day, more and more people are listening to online music. Industry estimates put the audience at 72 million listeners per month. All you need is a computer hooked up to the Internet.

And you don't need much more than that to be a Webcaster. Some CDs, perhaps, a passion for sharing music, and you could be operating one of the thousands of Internet radio stations playing sounds from every conceivable genre.

While there is no way to know how many Webcasters are operating in Pittsburgh, a search at Live365.com, one of the Internet's most popular broadcast services, lists more than two dozen stations based here. The labels range from Prime Time Polkas and American Blues Radio to New World Buzz and Big Guitar Show.

Paul Cramer, 43, broadcasts Ear.FM, a classic alternative rock station, out of the basement of his Squirrel Hill home. A former disc jockey in Pittsburgh, he walked away from traditional radio when he saw the corporations that owned the stations shift to more limited, homogenized play- lists, sending the same songs out over and over again.

Six years ago, he hooked up with Live365.com, making him one of the young industry's veterans. He has friends who volunteer their services as DJs.

"We have 10,000 songs to choose from and we change [our programs] every week," he said. "We have the ability to be on all day, all night, and no matter where you're listening on the planet, you're going to hear something different."

Mr. Cramer said his station has been heard in 151 countries.

The station makes money, he said, through advertising and deals with music companies, "but it's just enough to cover operating costs. So I don't derive any income from it. It sustains itself."

His royalty fees are paid for by Live365.com as part of his deal with the California-based company. But if the higher rates are instituted, he said, it's conceivable that Live365.com would have to close up shop.

"It will be a big loss for people who are turned on to different kinds of music," he said. "And it's a shame because we're reaching more listeners than ever before."

A large part of the surge, he said, is that computers are no longer just big boxes anchored to a desk. They're smaller and more portable. You can access the Internet through your phone and, in some cases, your car's dashboard.

"Gina," 32, is a pastor living in Crafton. In her spare time, she helps produce club80s.com, an electronica station. She doesn't use her real name with the station because she likes to "keep those parts of my life separate."

She has worked for Club80s.com for three years and, in true 21st-century fashion, she has never met any of her six co-workers, who are in Utah, California and Chicago. They work and communicate via the Internet, sending out their favorite music from the '80s to listeners in 130 countries.

"It's exciting to be part of a subculture, to think you're influencing young people around the world and the bands of tomorrow," she said.

Lately, however, she's been spreading the word about the damage that the new royalty rates could do to her hobby.

"Actually, a lot of people's financial lives are on the line," she said. "They're nervous. If they have to pay these fees, they'll have to file for bankruptcy.

"I understand that you have to pay to play, and we don't mind paying royalties. But when you're the little guy, you want it to be fair. This seems like a move to eliminate the little guy."

Michael V. Yuricha, 47, is founder/director of Judah Ministries in Sheraden. He started broadcasting "Sounds of Judah," featuring inspirational and gospel music, just over a year ago out of his home in Cranberry.

"We get 6,000 broadcast hours a month all over the world. In 50 to 60 countries at any one time," he said. "I've been pleasantly surprised at how popular it is. There's places in Africa, India, Asia that don't have the 24-hour media like we have here preaching the gospel. Over there, if they have a computer, they're able to get Christian radio."

Mr. Yuricha's station doesn't generate revenue. In fact, he pays Live365.com $300 a year. But he said it's worth it -- as long as the rates stay reasonable.

"It's completely unfair, what they're doing to Internet radio," he said Mr. Hanson, of AccuRadio.com, said his company generated $400,000 in revenue last year. The royalties he would be liable for, however, would amount to $600,000.

"Royalty rates are typically 3 or 4 percent of revenue. That's what satellite radio pays," he said. "These new rates are just ludicrous."

The worst part, he said, is that some representatives of the music industry contend that Internet radio is hurtful.

"Actually, Internet radio is very good for the music industry," he said, "and it's great for musicians, especially if you're in a unique genre that doesn't get on FM. It offers exposure."

The two sides need to work together, he said, and hammer out a relationship that is fair. Besides, he said, it is unlikely that even the most powerful forces in the industry would be able to stifle Internet music.

"Listeners would go to pirates or overseas," he said. "Illegal downloads. Consumers will find a substitute. But none of the substitutes are nearly as good for consumers, musicians or the record industry as a healthy Internet radio is."

Such is the sentiment of Mr. Cramer. "I will not shut down," he said. "If Live365 shuts down, I'll be shut down through them. But I will find another outlet and make sure it gets back on the Internet. And I'm sure there are a lot of Webcasters out there who feel the same way."