http://www.zdnet.com/anchordesk/stories/story/0,10738,2863618,00.html
http://www.saveinternetradio.org/

If Congress doesn't act before 12 May, Internet Radio may well be dead in the USA. Thanks to the greed of the RIAA and the stupidity of the DMCA, USA based Internet Radio stations will have to start paying twice as much in royalties for each song as over-the-air (OTA) broadcasters ... even if the OTA stations webcast as well. If this is allowed to happen ... we can expect all USA based Internet Radio stations to go off the air ... they simply won't be able to afford to stay on line.


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pat----

email: pat@sklenar.info ---===--- home page: Grumpy's Lair

You want my opinion? Webcasters should pay EXACTLY THE SAME amount that traditional broadcasters pay for over-the-air radio. What is this amount? Zero. And why? Because radio has "proven promotional value" for the artists and the labels. Is webcasting any different? They have commercials, DJs, etc. They ARE radio stations, just delivered to the user in a slightly different fashion. Why should they be treated any differently? They also provide promotional value to the labels.

Of course, there ARE rules, about what songs the radio station can play, and when. You're not typically allowed, for example, to play an album end-to-end. The same rules should apply to webcasters.

What's next? Is digitial satellite radio also going to be required to pay a fee for the songs they broadcast?

What the RIAA is doing is taking advantage of a new technology to impose new rules on an old game. They can't force royalty payments on FM broadcasters, so they're trying to change the rules with the new guys, in the hopes that people will eventually forget what the old status quo was.

Just burns me up...

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Matthew J. Hill
matt@idsi.net

Matt,

Actually, if I understand the articles correctly, the OTA stations do pay royalties, but they're "Composer Royalities". And I agree that the Internet stations should pay the same. However, I don't agree with the RIAA that the Internet stations should pay an additional "Performance Royalty" for each song which is what the RIAA is trying to slip thru the cracks under the DMCA.

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pat----

email: pat@sklenar.info ---===--- home page: Grumpy's Lair

Sorry, yes, I was referring to the performance royalties.

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Matthew J. Hill
matt@idsi.net

hehe, I can see it now. How many people to you think decide not to attend a concert because they can listen to an album or recorded song on the internet? Yeah. Sure. Uh huh.

in my personla opinion, the RIAA (and the MPAA too) should be abolished and it's members taken out and shot. Of course, no one is ever really interested in my opinions.


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pat----

email: pat@sklenar.info ---===--- home page: Grumpy's Lair

How do I love thee? Hmm, let me count the ways:

(1) trying to kill Webcasters
(2) "copy protected" CDs, just gotta love that!
(3) SCMS
(4) lack of a DVD-A digital interconnect
(5) CSS, region codes, tracks that can't be skipped, etc.
(6) restrictions on transmitting DVD over a network (can't let the digital signal leave the player)
(7) countless others I can't think of at the moment...

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Matthew J. Hill
matt@idsi.net