|
|
the existential blues
April 6, 2002
The Fight To Save Internet Radio
"THEY SAID IT..."
Voices from Across America Fight to Save Interent Radio
But, Is Anybody Listening?
 |
"Radio stations sound the same from San Diego to Schenectady. The homogenization began in 1996 when Congress lifted the cap on the number of stations a single network could own. About the only break from the three or four cookie-cut Ashanti/N'Sync/Clint Black playlist variations comes from a growing number of independent ''Webcasters'' who stream colorful and original programming on the Internet."
"Congress may wind up shutting them down, though, if it allows the U.S. Copyright Office to levy draconian "sound recording performance royalties" on enterprises transmitting over the Internet." |
 |
"Two years after the dot-com bubble burst, stories of Net entrepreneurs' shattered dreams don't elicit much surprise or sympathy anymore. But Internet radio operators aren't misguided twenty-something entrepreneurs with dollar signs in their eyes. Their downfall, if it comes, will be the direct result of a misguided government policy."
"These new rates would stifle innovation and diversity, dooming the Net to become just another outlet for FM drivel." |
 |
"The proposed royalties, which the copyright office has until May 21 to revise or approve, have radically dimmed the prospects for the legions of entrepreneurs and hobbyists whose radio stations have for the last two years provided free access to a startlingly wide range of music. Last week, lawyers for the Webcasters and the recording industry submitted their final comments to the copyright office, with the record labels urging the agency to increase the rate and the Webcasters pleading for a lower alternative."
|
 |
"As the battle continues regarding streaming royalties for webcasters, I found this quote from an RIAA press release on the subject to be interesting: "Musicians and artists should not be forced to subsidize the profit margin of webcasters.... And oddly enough, it’s these small webcasters who are most likely to give a shot to new, unknown artists, and help the labels break new acts. And of course, if they’re really concerned about musicians and artists subsidizing webcasters, they should be equally concerned about subsidizing broadcasters. They want money from webcasters who play their music, but they’re willing to pay broadcasters to play their music. Hmmmm…" |
 |
"The Internet has opened up a new universe of radio, unbound by limits of signals and of spectrum."
"From classical to rock, from East Coast to West, there are hundreds of Internet radio stations. They include streamed versions of broadcast stations and a quirky band of Internet-only Webcasters, largely of entrepreneurs and music collectors on shoestring budgets. They offer originality and variety not found on an FM dial dominated by corporate conglomerates."
"But Internet radio is in jeopardy. At issue is the size of a new royalty that Webcasters will pay recording companies and performing artists for playing their tapes and CDs."
"Giving performers a piece of the action isn't a bad idea, if the cut is reasonable. But the proposed royalty is excessive, and the paperwork that Webcasters would have to keep is burdensome as well as potentially invasive of listeners' privacy. The combination could wipe out many of Internet radio's pioneers."
"If the Patent Office doesn't slash the royalty, Congress should consider rescinding it." |
|
|
