This isn’t a usual post about live music, but I still wanted to share this news with you since it’s very important to what we do here for you at Live Fix. Please read on.
This evening I got an email from Amazon telling me that because of the new bill (Senate Amendment 3 to HB 3659) that Illinois Governor Pat Quinn might sign in this month, they will be forced to terminate all Illinois Affiliates from their program.
Live Fix has been an Amazon Affiliate for a year and it’s been a pleasure to provide you links to cool tunes, DVDs and other live music products that I think you’ll enjoy too.
Yes, I do make a small commission from those sales but that basically allows me to keep Live Fix going and helps me to keep providing you with the stuff you love to read about. If you’ve ever bought anything through one of the Amazon links I thank you very much and I appreciate your support.
I will say that this Amazon termination and Illinois law situation is complicated, but as I’ve thought through the details, I think it doesn’t make any sense for Quinn to sign such a law, because he’s only hurting the small businesses and not really doing anything good for Illinois’s internet business in the longterm.
And for Amazon to do such a thing is sort of bogus too, since they would be removing a lot their business and sales too.
In the end, legislation like this hurts music bloggers and other online businesses who depend on affiliate programs to keep their businesses going.
Illinois isn’t the only state to do such a thing and as I’ve looked around at other sites, it seems that other states are likely to follow. And it also seems that a bigger change in online taxes, affiliate programs and state laws is coming in the near future.
That’s all for now. Here’s the email that I received from Amazon this evening, and a few links that I read to find out more about the whole situation.
I’m going to send an email to Governor Quinn telling him I don’t want him to sing the law in to effect and I hope you will join with me to do the same.
As always, I’d like to know what you think about this, so please let me know you thoughts in the comments.
Greetings from the Amazon Associates Program:
We regret to inform you that the Illinois state legislature has passed an unconstitutional tax collection scheme that, if signed by Governor Quinn, would leave Amazon.com little choice but to end its relationships with Illinois-based Associates. You are receiving this email because our records indicate that you are a resident of Illinois. If our records are incorrect, you can manage the details of your Associates account here.
Please note that this not an immediate termination notice and you are still a valued participant in the Amazon Associates Program. But if the governor signs this bill, we will need to terminate the participation of all Illinois residents in the Associates Program. After that point, we will no longer pay any advertising fees for sales referred to amazon.com, endless.com and smallparts.com nor will we accept new applications for the Associates Program from Illinois residents.
The unfortunate consequences of this legislation on Illinois residents like you were explained to the legislature, including Senate and House leadership, as well as to the governor’s staff.
Over a dozen other states have considered essentially identical legislation but have rejected these proposals largely because of the adverse impact on their states’ residents.
Governor Quinn’s office may be reached here.
We thank you for being part of the Amazon Associates Program, and wish you continued success in the future.
Sincerely,
Amazon.com