Friday, July 20, 2007: This Week in News

Radio

The Great Spectrum Giveaway
The FCC is giving radio spectrum to community-based non-profit organizations in October. Radio for People, which includes Prometheus Radio, FMC, and Free Press, is assisting groups with the complicated application process, but many obstacles still exist to prevent community groups from breaking into a highly consolidated radio spectrum.
by Megan Tady, In These Times, July 18, 2007

RIAA to feds: Make XM-Sirius pay more, restrict listeners' recording
The RIAA has submitted comments to the FCC that urge the agency to approve the XM-Sirius merger only if the company agrees to create protections against the copyright infringing practice of "song trapping."
by Anne Broache, CNET, July 9, 2007

Webcasting

The Internet Radio Royalty Debate: Frequently Asked Questions
Digital Music News answers some of the most confusing questions about the ongoing internet radio royalty debate.
Digital Music News, July 15, 2007

FAQ: Net Radio's Mixed Signals
Amidst lots of talk in the blogosphere concerning July 15's increase in webcasting royalty rates, Anne Broache tries to answer some of the most common questions concerning the royalty hike.
by Anne Broache, CNET, July 13, 2007

Net radio negotiations hit snag over DRM
New debate emerged over whether webcasters should be required to cloak their streams in technologies designed to prevent "streamripping" as part of an agreement to cap the administrative fees they owe to SoundExchange.
by Anne Broache, CNET, July 18, 2007

DiMA and SoundExchange Trade Blows
Digital Media Association, a lobby group representing the internet's largest webcasters, and SoundExchange are engaged in arguments over webcaster royalty rate negotiations. DiMA claims SoundExchange has "backtracked" on its promises while SoundExchange maintains that DiMA has misunderstood their proposals.
by Eliot Van Buskirk, Wired.com, July 18, 2007

Public Radio: No Webcast Changes For Us Now
Public radio has reached a temporary agreement with SoundExchange that allows them to continue streaming music for the next three months. In the meantime, the Corporation for Public Broadcasting has offered SoundExchange a payment for what they believe they will owe on July 15, and talks will continue between the two parties to negotiate a final agreement over fees.
by Anne Broache, CNET, July 14, 2007

Music Industry

The Digital Pre-Release Soft Launch and The More Of Less Strategy
The Canadian band Stars has decided to do a digital-only release of their new album 2 months before the street date. Glenn from Coolfer reports on the impact of this announcement.
Coolfer, July 18, 2007

New Format, Same Hope
The music industry has been criticized for holding onto a dead format, the CD. But CDs still make up 80% of album sales and are still preferred by many to digital downloads. Disney announced that they will now use the CDVU+ format, which is like a normal cd with video and photo extras.
Coolfer, July 19, 2007

Pirated Music Helps Radio Develop Playlists
Although the music industry is cracking down on piracy, it is also showing interest in what music illegal downloaders want. Clear Channel began collecting information on the most popular downloads from illegal file-sharing networks to help shape the playlists for their terrestrial radio stations.
by Sarah McBride, Wall Street Journal, July 12, 2007

Accused of Payola (Again), Clear Channel Scuttles Waiver Clause
Following FMC's attacks on Clear Channel's payola scheme, Clear Channel has "quietly dropped a licensing agreement that requires independent artists to waive royalties to be considered for airplay on the chain's more than 1,100 stations."
by Robert Wilonsky, Dallas Observer, July 19, 2007

Zune Pay-To-Share Rumors Floated Again
ZuneScene, a fansite dedicated to Microsoft's Zune, is reporting that Microsoft is patenting a Pay-To-Share system. With Pay-To-Share, users would share songs with expiration dates. If users then buy the song for themselves, the sharer would receive a commission in the form of music points or other currency.
by Matt Rosoff, CNET, July 13, 2007

Net Neutrality

The Players Vying for Spectrum
The Washington Post breaks down potential bidders in the upcoming 700Mhz
Auction for spectrum.
Washington Post, July 13, 2007

This Week in News: Friday, June 29, 2007

Webcasting


Congress urges peace talks in Net radio conflict
In a hearing on webcasting on Thursday, members of Congress admitted that they were unsure how to balance the interests of webcasters with the need to compensate artists through royalties. Since the new royalties are effective on July 15, Congress is urging webcasters and SoundExchange to work things out independently in order to beat the deadline and avoid the collapse of small business webcasters.
by Anne Broache, CNET, June 28, 2007


Small Business Committee Hears Testimony For, Against, CRB Rates
Thorough coverage of the House committee hearing on the webcasting rates, as well as links to testimony filed by FMC and the Small Webcaster Group
by Kurt Hanson, June 28, 2007;See video from the hearing here.

eMusic Lends Support to Web Radio Campaign
Following June 26th's "Day of Silence," retailer eMusic has announced that it will donate a "modest contribution" to SaveNetRadio.org in protest of increased royalty rates for webcasters set to go into effect on July 15.
by Todd Martens, Billboard Biz, June 27, 2007

Web Radio Stations Hope Silence Speaks Volumes About Fee Hike
Pandora, Live365 and Real Networks' Rhapsody, as well as terrestrial radio stations such as Washington's WAMU and Santa Monica, California's KCRW participated in internet radio's "Day of Silence," which protests the hike in royalties set to take effect on July 15.
by Mike Musgrove, Washington Post, June 26, 2007

Internet Radio Holds Out Silent Hope
Mike McGuire, an analyst at Gartner, said he is sure the Internet radio Day of Silence raised awareness among consumers, many of whom might not have heard about the royalty issue, but he also pointed out that it is questionable whether the Day of Silence protest will rally enough support to reverse the royalty hike.
by Jennifer LeClaire, Newsfactor, June 27, 2007

Music Industry

Music Biz Agrees: Stop Shooting Self in Foot
Industry executives gather at a retreat in Norway to face the harsh realities of a music industry that is undergoing seismic changes.
by Andrew Orlowski, The Register, June 27, 2007

Hanging Up On Ringtones
Rumors are flying around the blogs about whether the new iPhone will allow consumers to convert previously purchase songs into ringtones, and what the price would be, if any. But there are larger questions about the ringtone market, where sales have leveled off. Are consumers now more interested in "sideloading" their own content onto their phone?
Guardian Unlimited (UK), June 28, 2007

To Free or Not to Free
The Layaways blogger/musician debates whether his band should give away their next album via free MP3s. The list of pros and cons is definitely worth reading.
Digital Audio Insider, June 27, 2007

Net Neutrality

Gov. Regulators Issue Wait-And-See Net Neutrality Report
The Federal Trade Commission' took a neutral stance in a report on Net Neutrality released by their Internet Access Task Force. Despite warnings by Net Neutrality proponents, the FTC is unsure that the prioritizing on Internet content through charging fees for fast lanes will be harmful.
"It's clear from the 170 page report that the FTC has no immediate plans to step in on its own."
by Ryan Singel, Wired, June 28, 2007

FTC on Net neutrality: No new laws needed
The FTC report on Net Neutrality indicates the FTC believes Net Neutrality regulations are not needed. Public interest groups, such as Public Knowledge, have responded with disapproval and criticism.
by Declan McCullagh, CNET, June 28, 2007

Net neutrality on Congress's fall agenda?
Never mind that federal regulators discouraged so-called Net neutrality regulations in a report unveiled Wednesday. Democrats in Congress say they still believe it's necessary to enact a new law to clamp down on the perceived threat posed by broadband operators that want to charge content
owners extra fees for priority placement.
by Anne Broache, CNET, June 28, 2007

Radio

Congressional Pair Introduce Low Power FM Legislation
Congressmen Mike Doyle (D-PA) and Lee Terry (R-NE) have introduced legislation that will repeal the Radio Broadcast Preservation Act and allow thousands of low power FM stations to begin broadcasting. The Act currently prohibits low-power FM by requiring that radio stations in a given market be four intervals apart. More low power stations will increase localism and diversity in terrestrial radio. In response to the bi-partisan legislation, the National Association of Broadcasters has announced its opposition to an "overcrowded radio dial."
Radio Ink, June 22, 2007

An XM-Sirius Union: Yea or Nay?
The FCC has asked for public comment on the proposed XM-Sirius merger, which would violate an order specifically prohibiting a satellite radio monopoly, to determine whether the union is in the public interest.
by Anne Broache, CNET News, June 27, 2007

Karmazin Finds the Right Wavelength
Sirius CEO Mel Karmazin, likely to lead XM-Sirius if the merger is approved, has more to worry about than pressuring the FCC for approval. While it is agreed that Karmazin is a talented Chief Executive, neither Sirius nor XM have turned a profit since their entry into satellite radio.
by Matthew Kirdahy, Forbes, June 25, 2007

Bill Would Undercut Democrats' Push to Regulate Talk Radio
Republican Congress Mike Pence (R-IN) has warned that Democrat-backed reinstitution of the Fairness Doctrine would be a dangerous rationing of free speech on radio. This follows a Democratic push to gain ground in conservative-dominated talk radio. The Fairness Doctrine was enforced by
the FCC from 1949 to 1987 and required broadcasters to present both sides of controversial issues.
by Stewart Whitney and Fed Lucas, CNS News, June 28, 2007

Thursday, June 14, 2007: This Week in News

Webcasting


Major Webcasters to face billions in new fees? The CEOs of the four leading internet radio broadcasters, RealNetworks, Yahoo, Pandora, and Live365, say the new annual $500/channel administrative fee would force their companies alone to pay $1 billion per year to SoundExchange ­ without including actual royalty payments.
by Anne Broache, CNET, June 7, 2007

Web spinners and royalty collectors
Why should webcasters have to pay royalties to labels and performers when local broadcasters don't? If an online station builds a business around music, what share of the revenues should go to the copyright owners? Publisher Kurt Hanson and Recording Artists' Coalition attorney Jay Rosenthal debate the webcasting rates over three days of posts.
Los Angeles Times, June 11-13, 2007

Indecency

FCC Needs a Pacifier, His Commission Needs a Clue
FCC Commissioner Kevin Martin uses profanity multiple times in a press release reacting to the court's decision on FCC's arbitrary indecency standards.
by Ryan Blethen, Seattle Times, June 8, 2007

Net Neutrality

The Deciders of Network Neutrality
Major politicians are becoming more vocal in the debate on net neutrality. VoIP gives a quick summary on the members of Congress and 2008 Presidential candidates who have been active on the issue.
by Robert Poe, VoIP News, June 13, 2007

Is Content Filtering the New DRM?
The LA Times is reporting that AT&T plans to filter copyright infringing content from their networks. Michael Geist questions if this is the proper solution to copyright problems and points to the risk of filtering legitimate content.
by Michael Geist, Michael Geist blog, June 13, 2007

Maine is the First State in Nation to Pass Net Neutrality Resolution
Maine passes a resolution that explicitly affirms the importance of net neutrality to small businesses, to consumers, and to democracy in general. With this resolution, Main sets the precedent for other states to pass legislation to preserve net neutrality and pressures the federal government to recognize it as a national issue.
Maine Civil Liberties Union, June 12, 2007

Sen. Kerry: Open the Airwaves for a Better Internet
Senator John Kerry expressed support to make the Internet "more competitive, affordable and widespread" in a letter to FCC Chairman Kevin Martin. He joins a slew of politicians, including Presidential candidate John Edwards, who have spoken up on the upcoming 700mhz auction.
by Timothy Karr, SavetheInternet.com, June 12, 2007

Radio

Civil Rights and Rural Groups Rush to Endorse XM/Sirius Merger
The proposed XM-Sirius merger, which would create a monopoly on satellite radio in the U.S., has been endorsed by civil rights and rural groups. These groups claim that without the merger, satellite radio will fail and eliminate the niche programming that commercial radio does not provide.
by Matthew Lasar, Lasar's Letter, June 10, 2007

NAB Ramps Up Anti XM/Sirius Merger Efforts
NAB lets the world know its feelings about the proposed merger with a banner outside of its Washington headquarters, which reads "Do the Math: XM + Sirius = Monopoly."
Broadcasting and Cable, July 14, 2007

Big Radio Makes a Grab for Internet Listeners
Corporate radio is finally realizing that it must interact with listeners via internet to combat the "erosion of listeners who are turning to iPods, podcasts and other sources for entertainment."
by Jeff Leeds, New York Times, June 12, 2007

The Black Stake in Low Power Community Radio With the help of the Prometheus Radio Project, WMXP, a low power radio station operated by the Malcom X Grassroots Organization, began broadcasting its signal in Greenville, North Carolina on Sunday. WMXP can now serve the interests of the local community that have been largely ignored by corporate broadcasters.
by Bruce Dixon, Black Agenda Report, June 13, 2007

Music Industry

Apple Sparks London-Based iTunes Festival
Apple has jumped into the live music promotion business, getting behind a month-long series of shows at London's Institute of Contemporary Arts. Artists like Amy Winehouse, Mika, Travis and Stereophonics will play to audiences of roughly 350 throughout July.
Digital Music News, June 12, 2007

The Bon Jovi Bundle
In an unprecedented move, Bon Jovi has bundled digital sales of his album Lost Highway pre-sale tickets to an upcoming show.
Coolfer Blog, June 8, 2007

The CD Is Dead? Make That The CD Store. Coolfer comments on a recent Huffington Post article that argues the CD is dead. Coolfer says the format's not dead, but the CD store is.
Coolfer Blog, June 11, 2007

Copyright Law

New Artist Bloc to Fight for Airplay Pay Some of the music industry's most recognizable names are signing up for what likely will be a bruising legislative battle as they attempt to win a change in the law that would force broadcasters to pay a public performance right.
by Brooks Boliek, Hollywood Reporter, June 14, 2007

Treating Downloads Like Drug Deals
The Department of Justice proposes alarming methods of punishing copyright infringement, including the destruction of "'any property used, or intended to be used, in any manner or part, to commit or facilitate' infringement."
by Gigi B. Sohn, Business Week, June 5, 2007