itunes supplies me with some pretty fantastic internet radio stations to tune in to, but sometimes it would like to listen to something else. perhaps my tastes in music are more eclectic or diverse- or maybe as large as the itunes offering may be, it just isn't large enough. who knows?
subjection aside, i thought i would share the stations which i like to occasionally listen to (which are not offered on itunes, or that i know of as of yet). i will try to group them since my list is alphabetical, that way you can peruse by grouping. i hope you find some enjoyable stations in my list. since some of these sites offer more than one listening link and/or server, i will simply post the main page for you. by the way, i will post some pertinent links in my "Check It Out..." section on my main page here.
anime soundtrack, j-pop, j-rock, edm, etc.
these stations are basically anime related. some focus on one genre more than another. that being said, the majority of the music will be in japanese. the remainder will be either english or instrumental.
anime seed radio
http://www.animeseed.com/
animeamaze radio
http://www.animeamaze.net/
animenfo radio
http://www.animenfo.com/
armitage's dimension
http://www.armitunes.com/
kawaii-radio
http://www.kawaii-radio.net/
keiichi.net ex² extreme anime radio
http://www.radio.keiichi.net/index2.php
shinsen radio
http://www.shinsen-radio.org/
toon radio
http://www.toonradio.net/
aznv.tv radio
http://aznv.tv/?p=home
edm, alternative, etc.
the main reason i tune into these stations is for some excellent edm (electronic dance music) broadcasts. a few of these stations also broadcast non-edm-related programs, which aren't so bad if i happen to be curious enough to catch them.
lowercasesounds radio
http://www.lowercasesounds.com/
lunacast radio
http://www.lunacast.com/
wfmu
http://www.wfmu.org/
wmbc
http://www.wmbc.umbc.edu/
wmuc
http://www.wmucradio.com/
wber
http://www.wber.monroe.edu/site/html/index.php
Showing posts with label broadcast. Show all posts
Showing posts with label broadcast. Show all posts
Tuesday, February 17, 2009
Wednesday, January 28, 2009
back-words... general update on life and such...
*** i could've sworn i posted this somewhere, but at this moment i cant seem to locate it so here's this one...
Entry for November 12, 2008
this is one of the few blogs where i haven't posted anything in a long time, so i figured i was long overdue for providing an update in regards to things that have been transpiring in my life since my last post.
this year has seen many things: another birthday, identity theft, a self-run business slowly rise and quickly fall, admin-level status at a web site, the loss of a family member, communication briefly re-established with other family members, and contemplation of career change accompanied with going back to school again. all this is on top of the daily and other incidental stuff with which i already deal. without a doubt, it's been quite the emotional roller-coaster ride, especially when i take into consideration my past and my future.
my birthday serves as a yearly milestone where i assess how far i've come, what i've accomplished, what i'm currently doing, and what my plans are. it's not so much of a comparison with other people as much as it is a comparison with what i feel i could be doing based on a potential happy medium that i generally try to strive for- nothing too great nor too poor.
as many of you know, last year saw considerable marks in success. i released 10 albums (with a cumulative 15,000+ download result) including a collaborative album which i later remastered as a solo work which i released this year. indeed i have plans for future works, both specifically and generally speaking. after pulling off to work independently, i was accepted to sell my work with apple itunes along with several other companies online. before i was able to send my work to each of these companies, my external hard drive died, which i have described in great detail in a previous post. this put my life at an abrupt standstill. i had no backup plan. if anything, returning to music was my backup plan. due to various medical situations, i've become limited in what i can do so working at home on music seemed like my best option considering my abilities and resources. even though it seems life has other intentions for me, i will not be giving up on this dream and it is my intention to slowly rebuild my way back to where i was before and surpass that milestone.
in the meantime, i'm still limited as to what i can and can't do. time has been slowly healing physical and emotional wounds. i have had time to reconsider life, options, and so forth. an option i've been giving strong consideration to is teaching english as a second and/or foreign language, specifically in japan. why japan? because before i was a live my family had been there while my grandfather was still in the navy and i have grown up seeing all sorts of things attesting to their love of being there and i have been captivated by these relics and on my own experiences found myself gravitating to all things japanese over the course of my life, so it only seemed natural that my first thoughts were of japan. asia, in general, is seeking native-speaking english teachers for all levels of education and they are paying very well and if you get a private job, then the pay is pretty phenomenal. I could really use something that would provide a decent, reliable income. that is something i have never had- its always been decent or reliable, but never both.
so here i am trying my best to become fluent in japanese so that i can go out there and get a job teaching english, but wait- don't i need some sort of experience and educational background in that field before landing such a job? yes, indeed i do. this means completing my existing education so i don't lose all the work i've already done over the course of about 7 years in four colleges. then i need to get an additional degree and perhaps certification as well as work experience before i can even go over there and work. additionally, i will have to perform a massive overseas move as well as getting a home, which will be monumental tasks in of themselves. i've already done all the research into that as well, but i've determined this is something that i want to do and even if it takes me around 7 years to accomplish, i will get it done.
sounds great, but what about the music? that will be sitting on the back burner as little as possible while i am trying to get all these other things accomplished. another goal of the teaching would be to better afford my ability to work on music and probably the repair (if possible) of my external hard drive. if i can get that repaired, then i can get back on track where i was with music sales and continuing further album work, broadcasting, and more. everything i had previously entertained doing in the line of music i still would like to do and i think i can be successful doing that anywhere in the world.
ok, so you mentioned a lot of other stuff happening thats been messing with your abilities... yes, my grandmother passed away this year. her health has been deteriorating for several years now and this year seemed to bring some considerable problems- a broken leg, a heart attack, and then spending her final days in a hospital where she would eventually die. the last medicine the doctors gave her lead to her death. they knew it might do it and my family was informed and for some reason everyone thought it was ok to do. well, she went into a coma, stopped breathing on her own, and after two weeks they finally unplugged her life support and she died a painful, scary death. she was also buried this summer and that was also an ordeal in of itself. i saw relatives i had stopped talking to for quite some time. i saw my grandparents' latest poor choice in assistants there as well. it was not a good day. i chose to bring the dog because he is family and he has emotional problems with being left alone for various reasons. because i had him with me, i was not allowed to go inside for the memorial service which was performed by my great uncle, her brother, how ever i was allowed to attend the burial service as that was outdoors. i miss the person she sometimes was, but not the person she became. her death cemented that things would never be good between us again, much as i had already suspected. in a way i had already said my goodbyes long ago, so the day felt very awkward for me. i think everyone had slightly different feelings on that day and continue to have slightly different feelings. everyone is slightly different now and yet they're still quite the same. things have quieted up between me and my relative once again. everyone is doing what they had been before, the only difference being that my grandmother is no longer part of the picture. it's been hard dealing with things in a way i can't quite describe. i intentionally abandoned certain activities i knew i wouldn't be able to perform during that time and i have resumed most of those activities, such as career and educational research, learning japanese, and a couple of recreational things online, but not everything is back to normal.
i was an active trivia official on a website dedicated to my birth year where i posted on a weekly basis, but now i merely hold the title as i haven't done anything there for months except excuse myself from activity due to family matters. i have resumed recreationally surfing the web and talking to friends online, but i still find myself testier about many things that i used to be more patient about and i've noticed with every major life-affecting event, that i get more and more like this and i don't really care for it. it's something that i try to keep in check, but i can't quite control it 100% of the time, either.
my grandmother's passing hasn't brought much change. my grandfather has seemed to grow more bitter of her, and he continues to tire of life. many of her things have vanished and it seems the help was involved, but he rehired them instead of hiring new help. this places quite a bit of unnecessary tension around the place because my mother will not go while any of them are there and if they are, she insists they leave. my uncle lives out of state so he isn't much help in many matters unless my mother pesters him to do something by phone or during one of his rare visits.
it's hard to keep focused when you have so much swimming around in your head, even more so when you're predisposed to having problems with maintaining focus. things have been breaking down right and left this year as well. my tv died so i have to use a small old one which means i can't really read anything on it or appreciate any rental in any great detail. i can't really afford a replacement at for the time being, either. my home has flooded some more this year and it got pretty bad. i am still fighting mildew problems and telecommunications problems as a result. i've been repairing computers in hopes i can get them all completely functional so that mine will work as they used to (if not better) and i can sell some others online so that i can get a little money. finding ways to make money has been a pain because it almost always costs money to make money. i was hoping to find ways to get ahead and it seems like i am barely staying afloat, all the while i am still receiving minimal financial assistance from my mother when she is able to afford it. i am lucky as most mothers wouldn't do this. i am trying to make the best use of her financial assistance, which does not always come as the easiest of choices. there are so many distractions and oh so many things to do, and there is always more to do than before. all i can do is keep trying and keep planning and someday i might manage to make things work ok...
Entry for November 12, 2008
this is one of the few blogs where i haven't posted anything in a long time, so i figured i was long overdue for providing an update in regards to things that have been transpiring in my life since my last post.
this year has seen many things: another birthday, identity theft, a self-run business slowly rise and quickly fall, admin-level status at a web site, the loss of a family member, communication briefly re-established with other family members, and contemplation of career change accompanied with going back to school again. all this is on top of the daily and other incidental stuff with which i already deal. without a doubt, it's been quite the emotional roller-coaster ride, especially when i take into consideration my past and my future.
my birthday serves as a yearly milestone where i assess how far i've come, what i've accomplished, what i'm currently doing, and what my plans are. it's not so much of a comparison with other people as much as it is a comparison with what i feel i could be doing based on a potential happy medium that i generally try to strive for- nothing too great nor too poor.
as many of you know, last year saw considerable marks in success. i released 10 albums (with a cumulative 15,000+ download result) including a collaborative album which i later remastered as a solo work which i released this year. indeed i have plans for future works, both specifically and generally speaking. after pulling off to work independently, i was accepted to sell my work with apple itunes along with several other companies online. before i was able to send my work to each of these companies, my external hard drive died, which i have described in great detail in a previous post. this put my life at an abrupt standstill. i had no backup plan. if anything, returning to music was my backup plan. due to various medical situations, i've become limited in what i can do so working at home on music seemed like my best option considering my abilities and resources. even though it seems life has other intentions for me, i will not be giving up on this dream and it is my intention to slowly rebuild my way back to where i was before and surpass that milestone.
in the meantime, i'm still limited as to what i can and can't do. time has been slowly healing physical and emotional wounds. i have had time to reconsider life, options, and so forth. an option i've been giving strong consideration to is teaching english as a second and/or foreign language, specifically in japan. why japan? because before i was a live my family had been there while my grandfather was still in the navy and i have grown up seeing all sorts of things attesting to their love of being there and i have been captivated by these relics and on my own experiences found myself gravitating to all things japanese over the course of my life, so it only seemed natural that my first thoughts were of japan. asia, in general, is seeking native-speaking english teachers for all levels of education and they are paying very well and if you get a private job, then the pay is pretty phenomenal. I could really use something that would provide a decent, reliable income. that is something i have never had- its always been decent or reliable, but never both.
so here i am trying my best to become fluent in japanese so that i can go out there and get a job teaching english, but wait- don't i need some sort of experience and educational background in that field before landing such a job? yes, indeed i do. this means completing my existing education so i don't lose all the work i've already done over the course of about 7 years in four colleges. then i need to get an additional degree and perhaps certification as well as work experience before i can even go over there and work. additionally, i will have to perform a massive overseas move as well as getting a home, which will be monumental tasks in of themselves. i've already done all the research into that as well, but i've determined this is something that i want to do and even if it takes me around 7 years to accomplish, i will get it done.
sounds great, but what about the music? that will be sitting on the back burner as little as possible while i am trying to get all these other things accomplished. another goal of the teaching would be to better afford my ability to work on music and probably the repair (if possible) of my external hard drive. if i can get that repaired, then i can get back on track where i was with music sales and continuing further album work, broadcasting, and more. everything i had previously entertained doing in the line of music i still would like to do and i think i can be successful doing that anywhere in the world.
ok, so you mentioned a lot of other stuff happening thats been messing with your abilities... yes, my grandmother passed away this year. her health has been deteriorating for several years now and this year seemed to bring some considerable problems- a broken leg, a heart attack, and then spending her final days in a hospital where she would eventually die. the last medicine the doctors gave her lead to her death. they knew it might do it and my family was informed and for some reason everyone thought it was ok to do. well, she went into a coma, stopped breathing on her own, and after two weeks they finally unplugged her life support and she died a painful, scary death. she was also buried this summer and that was also an ordeal in of itself. i saw relatives i had stopped talking to for quite some time. i saw my grandparents' latest poor choice in assistants there as well. it was not a good day. i chose to bring the dog because he is family and he has emotional problems with being left alone for various reasons. because i had him with me, i was not allowed to go inside for the memorial service which was performed by my great uncle, her brother, how ever i was allowed to attend the burial service as that was outdoors. i miss the person she sometimes was, but not the person she became. her death cemented that things would never be good between us again, much as i had already suspected. in a way i had already said my goodbyes long ago, so the day felt very awkward for me. i think everyone had slightly different feelings on that day and continue to have slightly different feelings. everyone is slightly different now and yet they're still quite the same. things have quieted up between me and my relative once again. everyone is doing what they had been before, the only difference being that my grandmother is no longer part of the picture. it's been hard dealing with things in a way i can't quite describe. i intentionally abandoned certain activities i knew i wouldn't be able to perform during that time and i have resumed most of those activities, such as career and educational research, learning japanese, and a couple of recreational things online, but not everything is back to normal.
i was an active trivia official on a website dedicated to my birth year where i posted on a weekly basis, but now i merely hold the title as i haven't done anything there for months except excuse myself from activity due to family matters. i have resumed recreationally surfing the web and talking to friends online, but i still find myself testier about many things that i used to be more patient about and i've noticed with every major life-affecting event, that i get more and more like this and i don't really care for it. it's something that i try to keep in check, but i can't quite control it 100% of the time, either.
my grandmother's passing hasn't brought much change. my grandfather has seemed to grow more bitter of her, and he continues to tire of life. many of her things have vanished and it seems the help was involved, but he rehired them instead of hiring new help. this places quite a bit of unnecessary tension around the place because my mother will not go while any of them are there and if they are, she insists they leave. my uncle lives out of state so he isn't much help in many matters unless my mother pesters him to do something by phone or during one of his rare visits.
it's hard to keep focused when you have so much swimming around in your head, even more so when you're predisposed to having problems with maintaining focus. things have been breaking down right and left this year as well. my tv died so i have to use a small old one which means i can't really read anything on it or appreciate any rental in any great detail. i can't really afford a replacement at for the time being, either. my home has flooded some more this year and it got pretty bad. i am still fighting mildew problems and telecommunications problems as a result. i've been repairing computers in hopes i can get them all completely functional so that mine will work as they used to (if not better) and i can sell some others online so that i can get a little money. finding ways to make money has been a pain because it almost always costs money to make money. i was hoping to find ways to get ahead and it seems like i am barely staying afloat, all the while i am still receiving minimal financial assistance from my mother when she is able to afford it. i am lucky as most mothers wouldn't do this. i am trying to make the best use of her financial assistance, which does not always come as the easiest of choices. there are so many distractions and oh so many things to do, and there is always more to do than before. all i can do is keep trying and keep planning and someday i might manage to make things work ok...
back-words... broadcast schedule update...
*** while this link is valid, i have not broadcasted live on there since march '08 when my external hard drive died. i do have a couple of recorded mixes that circulate the playlist when others aren't broadcasting live and they are available for download as well. it is my intent to resume broadcasting on lowercase sounds asap...
Entry for October 21, 2007
i finally have a new schedule with a new station. starting 10/30/07, i will be hosting labor of love on lowercase sounds every tuesday night, 8-10pm eastern. tune in and kick back as i play deeply chilled sounds. broadcast sessions will be focused around ambient music, ambient sounds, and other chilled genres and tempos applied in an ambient nature. often resulting in delicious fusions that promote relaxation and an upbeat vibe. i already have a couple mixes posted for free download and i will have more to share soon.
check out the site, bookmark it, and get ready for a weekly adventure that will rejuvenate your souls.
http://www.lowercasesounds.com/
i will provide additional updates as changes occur.
tune in, feel the vibe, dig it.
plur…
Entry for October 21, 2007
i finally have a new schedule with a new station. starting 10/30/07, i will be hosting labor of love on lowercase sounds every tuesday night, 8-10pm eastern. tune in and kick back as i play deeply chilled sounds. broadcast sessions will be focused around ambient music, ambient sounds, and other chilled genres and tempos applied in an ambient nature. often resulting in delicious fusions that promote relaxation and an upbeat vibe. i already have a couple mixes posted for free download and i will have more to share soon.
check out the site, bookmark it, and get ready for a weekly adventure that will rejuvenate your souls.
http://www.lowercasesounds.com/
i will provide additional updates as changes occur.
tune in, feel the vibe, dig it.
plur…
back-words... update...
*** none of the links are pertinent/valid except for the myspace and soundclick links. as previously mentioned, i am no longer with a label and acid grave folded. this post is also a culmination of other posts. sadly, i barely used the yahoo360 blog at all, wasting great potential for additional exposure; i was still learning facets of self-promotion at the time...
Entry for May 14, 2007
hey there, its been a while since i last posted, but i have a number of things to share...
first off, im sorry if you cant find my broadcasts anymore. im sure this problem is not uncommon lately. i have also been affected by legal actions courtesy of the riaa, so i no longer have a home that can afford to let me broadcast sweet tunes online. i will not let this stop me. i am in the process of finding a new home who can afford to let me play...
in the mean time, i have mixes posted at http://www.acidgrave.com in the form of torrents. there are 15 active seeds currently and i will keep them up or reseed upon request as long as possible. there are tracklists with each mix.
and last but not least, i have signed on with amduscias records. i have two releases posted online for free downloads right now. you can find several free releases under the amduscias label right here: http://www.archive.org/details/amduscias
just as a reminder, i dj as djsquelch and produce as phase shifts.
current info always hits my blog first so you may want to add me over on myspace: http://www.myspace.com/djsquelch
...and if you wish to purchase any tracks, you can find my shop here: http://www.soundclick.com/djsquelchandphaseshifts
i hope you all will enjoy the tunage!
plur...
Entry for May 14, 2007
hey there, its been a while since i last posted, but i have a number of things to share...
first off, im sorry if you cant find my broadcasts anymore. im sure this problem is not uncommon lately. i have also been affected by legal actions courtesy of the riaa, so i no longer have a home that can afford to let me broadcast sweet tunes online. i will not let this stop me. i am in the process of finding a new home who can afford to let me play...
in the mean time, i have mixes posted at http://www.acidgrave.com in the form of torrents. there are 15 active seeds currently and i will keep them up or reseed upon request as long as possible. there are tracklists with each mix.
and last but not least, i have signed on with amduscias records. i have two releases posted online for free downloads right now. you can find several free releases under the amduscias label right here: http://www.archive.org/details/amduscias
just as a reminder, i dj as djsquelch and produce as phase shifts.
current info always hits my blog first so you may want to add me over on myspace: http://www.myspace.com/djsquelch
...and if you wish to purchase any tracks, you can find my shop here: http://www.soundclick.com/djsquelchandphaseshifts
i hope you all will enjoy the tunage!
plur...
back-words... introduction
*** none of the links are valid/pertinent except for the myspace links. this was my first post on my yahoo360 blog and it was a culmination of part of one of my myspace introductions and part of a broadcast schedule posting. i figured the combined information would be a good way to start off this blog. I've never really been much of a blogger, so most of my blogs and postings to various forums and mailing lists have been music related. considering that factor, there will be many blogs and posts i will not be transferring here as they are merely cross-posts stating things already stated and posted here. when the transfers are complete, that will conclude the back-words series of posts. i hope you appreciate the play on words, homophonic with backwards, since these are all posts from the past...
Entry for September 01, 2006
artist, musician, writer, thinker, dreamer... life is about finding a balance and being happy while youre here... my music helps me find and achieve that balance. to learn more about my music, go to http://www.myspace.com/djsquelch/.
My personal page is located at http://www.myspace.com/djsquelch2/.
i am also a photographer and traveler and have driven alone all over the united states and been to europe. i have driven to upstate new york, down to south beach miami, chicago, and i have driven to california twice; once to long beach l.a. area, and once to santa cruz. i have documented these travels a bit and every month i add about 45 more photos to my spot at http://flickr.com/photos/djsquelch/.
a lot of the time i just clicked while i was driving because of no place to pull off, but theres some good ones in there. these journeys have taken me to some intense places physically and spiritually. as much as i learned from all that i am still finding myself picking up new lessons from those experiences. life is an incredible journey. keep your eyes open and experience as much as you can while its still possible. more to come...
i broadcast regularly on a few stations online. if you are familiar with my djsquelch and phase shifts accounts on slsk, then you know what to expect... check it out:
my stations:
to listen - http://68.49.148.32:8002
to listen - http://69.143.136.14:8100/listen.m3u
for info - http://www.myspace.com/djsquelch
for info - http://www.myspace.com/djsquelch2
*daily broadcasts.
lazy station:
to listen - http://lazystation.com:8000/
for info - http://www.lazystation.com
*mondays live at 7 pm est for 5 hours.
radioation:
to listen - http://radioation.armed.us:8000/
for info - http://www.radioation.com
*daily prerecorded and live broadcasts.
for those who dont know me yet, i dj and produce the following genres:
ambient, downtempo, lounge, acid jazz, idm, trance, minimal, acid, house, breaks, jungle, dnb, avant-garde, noise, hardcore, happy hardcore, gabber, experimental, industrial, dub, reggae, turntablism, jazz, disco, rock, and spoken word.
tune in, enjoy the vibe, dig it...
thanks to all for listening and continued support.
*plur*
Entry for September 01, 2006
artist, musician, writer, thinker, dreamer... life is about finding a balance and being happy while youre here... my music helps me find and achieve that balance. to learn more about my music, go to http://www.myspace.com/djsquelch/.
My personal page is located at http://www.myspace.com/djsquelch2/.
i am also a photographer and traveler and have driven alone all over the united states and been to europe. i have driven to upstate new york, down to south beach miami, chicago, and i have driven to california twice; once to long beach l.a. area, and once to santa cruz. i have documented these travels a bit and every month i add about 45 more photos to my spot at http://flickr.com/photos/djsquelch/.
a lot of the time i just clicked while i was driving because of no place to pull off, but theres some good ones in there. these journeys have taken me to some intense places physically and spiritually. as much as i learned from all that i am still finding myself picking up new lessons from those experiences. life is an incredible journey. keep your eyes open and experience as much as you can while its still possible. more to come...
i broadcast regularly on a few stations online. if you are familiar with my djsquelch and phase shifts accounts on slsk, then you know what to expect... check it out:
my stations:
to listen - http://68.49.148.32:8002
to listen - http://69.143.136.14:8100/listen.m3u
for info - http://www.myspace.com/djsquelch
for info - http://www.myspace.com/djsquelch2
*daily broadcasts.
lazy station:
to listen - http://lazystation.com:8000/
for info - http://www.lazystation.com
*mondays live at 7 pm est for 5 hours.
radioation:
to listen - http://radioation.armed.us:8000/
for info - http://www.radioation.com
*daily prerecorded and live broadcasts.
for those who dont know me yet, i dj and produce the following genres:
ambient, downtempo, lounge, acid jazz, idm, trance, minimal, acid, house, breaks, jungle, dnb, avant-garde, noise, hardcore, happy hardcore, gabber, experimental, industrial, dub, reggae, turntablism, jazz, disco, rock, and spoken word.
tune in, enjoy the vibe, dig it...
thanks to all for listening and continued support.
*plur*
Monday, January 26, 2009
back-words... just some thoughts...
Monday, November 6, 2006
just some thoughts...
music continues to keep me on a perpetually forward moving journey.
happiness does indeed run in a circular motion and music keeps helping me pick up the pieces. i have to admit i was dismayed at the downfall of lazystation and the way things went down for various reasons, but i am glad i still have a home with radioation. i am fortunate to have their friendship. i am hopeful that this is a sign of good things to come.
just some thoughts...
music continues to keep me on a perpetually forward moving journey.
happiness does indeed run in a circular motion and music keeps helping me pick up the pieces. i have to admit i was dismayed at the downfall of lazystation and the way things went down for various reasons, but i am glad i still have a home with radioation. i am fortunate to have their friendship. i am hopeful that this is a sign of good things to come.
Saturday, January 24, 2009
back-words... life derailed and blueprinting a backup plan...
Saturday, April 19, 2008
life derailed and blueprinting a backup plan...
life derailed and blueprinting a backup plan...
I have been putting off any posts til I had something more concrete to post, but there is only one thing I can offer in case anyone has been wondering: my external hard drive has died.
Because of this hardware failure, I have been unable to mix, produce, or host weekly broadcasts as I normally would. Because my external hard drive is 2tb (read 2000gb), the cheapest repair quote I can possibly get is $6,000.00. I will also have to replace the unit that died and buy and additional back up unit so this doesn't happen again.
Needless to say, I don't have this kind of money to spend all at once. It will take me time to save up for this repair. If I am lucky, maybe I can afford the repair in a year, but I anticipate it taking about ten years instead.
Either way, it will be quite some time before release any new work or mixes. I am currently working on a way to get broadcasts done using different equipment and a different medium.
If anyone knows of a cheaper way to get my repair done, I would appreciate some feedback. If anyone would like to help out financially I could set up a donations link via Paypal, however I would rather be hired to spin or have my albums be bought online.
I would be thrilled to get my life back on track again. I'm sorry this has happened. Thank you for your support.
plur...
*********************************
That was a post I made early in April, over a month after my drive had failed. By that point, I already felt obliged to say something in regards as to why I had ceased to broadcast on a weekly basis, why I was not creating new mixes and remixes, why I was not releasing new albums, and why my work had not been distributed to more online stores for sale as I had promised. I didn't have a lot of information to offer as most of the people I had been in contact with had given me very little information to go on. I like to know as much as I can and compare services before I settle on one. After all, $6000 is a lot of money to cough up and I am not about to give it to the first person I find. I need to know if I can find cheaper, the processes involved, if it's possible for me to cut costs based on options and preferences... I want to feel comfortable and confident knowing the services to be performed will be successfully done by a reliable source.
Because of the paths my life has taken, I do not have $6000 to surrender in one fell swoop. In order to pay such a price all at once, I will need to make and save that money. Unfortunately, the drive died before I could get my music distributed to more online sources. I have only a couple places selling my work now, but they are in obscure locations which do not receive as much internet traffic as where they were going to be located. Most of the work available for sale was available for free for nearly a year so it has not been selling since its availability status changed. I trust at some point the music will start selling. When it was free, it had been down loaded over 15,000 times in less than a year. So I trust it will sell again upon finding a larger audience.
Not only do I not have $6000 to afford to repair my hard drive, my original intent was to make money from my music to afford car repairs so I could have transportation for a job. Most jobs require many things, such as a degree, experience, and reliable transportation. Having tried to work without reliable transportation previously, I know it isn't a viable option when public transportation causes frequent lateness thus threatening job security. I also lack a degree despite my years of college training. Additionally, my work history is patchy, having had to take time off to help my handicapped grandparents and even live with them for a few years. My options are reduced to nothing more than minimum wage jobs or possibly an entry level company position- still requiring reliable transportation at the very least. So i can't get a job without transportation and I can't afford to repair my transportation without a job! Vicious, isn't it? So that brought me to mixing making music and selling it. I figured I would work at home on something I love which I am also capable of doing and make at least enough to afford repairs. I also had dreams of taking my goals to higher levels. I had not planned on hard drive failure thwarting my momentum. I had no backup plan to fall back on.
So suddenly I find myself in the ugly position of wondering what I am going to do. I figure music sales and dj gigs might allow my to make enough money to afford various repairs, but it will take anywhere up to ten years or longer, depending on the strength of the income. I'm not sure I can happily sit around and wait for that kind of money to roll in bit by bit. I like to be productive. I like to feel useful. I tend to measure and assess my progress regularly, so I'm fairly confident I wouldn't like to sit around and wait to have enough money. So what can I do to expedite things?
I have looked into this before; in fact, every time I consider a new job I go through the same train of thought. Most work at home options do not appeal to me. Either I have to put some money into a kit or a phony certification process which turns out to be a scam or the work is for data entry/processing or for collections services. Years ago I was on the other end of the collections services and I can tell you I hate being felt like despicable prey. I would never do that to another person. One might say I should take any job to make money just because it pays. I have never been able to accomplish anything I couldn't put my heart into. I have done data entry/processing and I won't do it again. I have a lousy attention span and when it comes to things I have no interest in, I might as well not be doing it. I also have other limitations. I had back surgery twice. My physical endurance and general comfort level just aren't very good anymore. I find it difficult to sit, stand, lift, kneel and more. I also have developed a sensitivity to light after a scratched cornea; I can assure you migraines don't go as easily as your average headache.
So what the hell can I do??? Well, endurance can be built, but sometimes it takes years to do. It has been three years since my last back surgery. I can do more things now, but I still spend the majority of my time in my bed. I has also been about as long since I scratched my cornea. some days are worse than others, but I can usually manage to be outside in bright sunlight for about an hour before my eyes are exhausted and I start to feel a migraine coming on, both of which are painful experiences. I can withstand normal indoor lighting for even longer, but it's something I generally try to avoid; I even keep my bedroom dimly lit. I figure at the very least I can try to complete a degree or two online while I am still stuck at home. Perhaps I can get into another field that interests me which would afford my repairs. Perhaps there is other work at home, or maybe temporary work (perhaps even abroad) that I can do which will allow me to afford repairs or even more. I have always felt challenged for extra money in the past. Perhaps this is an opportunity to make to make my life even better. To be honest, I have recently been looking into teaching again. The idea of teaching English as a second/foreign language appeals to me. The idea of living abroad also has some appeal and maybe one I might make it a permanent situation, but right now it's merely a consideration as I review my possibilities for completing a degree at home.
I hope this offers some clarity as to whats going on with things in my life right now. When I have more concrete information to offer I will keep you posted. Thank you for your support.
plur...
back-words... broadcast schedule update...
Sunday, October 21, 2007
broadcast schedule update...
broadcast schedule update...
i finally have a new schedule with a new station. starting 10/30/07, i will be hosting labor of love on lowercase sounds every tuesday night, 8-10pm eastern. tune in and kick back as i play deeply chilled sounds. broadcast sessions will be focused around ambient music, ambient sounds, and other chilled genres and tempos applied in an ambient nature. often resulting in delicious fusions that promote relaxation and an upbeat vibe. i already have a couple mixes posted for free download and i will have more to share soon.
check out the site, bookmark it, and get ready for a weekly adventure that will rejuvenate your souls.
http://www.lowercasesounds.com/
i will provide additional updates as changes occur.
tune in, feel the vibe, dig it.
plur…
back-words... good news...
Friday, September 14, 2007
good news...
a while back i had to stop broadcasting due to recent legal cockups from the riaa.
i would like to announce my arrival at lowercase sounds.
i have a profile up and a couple mixes available for download.
check it out:
http://www.lowercasesounds.com/
many plans are under way and i will announce a broadcasting schedule soon.
can you feel the excitement building? :)
more to come soon!
good news...
a while back i had to stop broadcasting due to recent legal cockups from the riaa.
i would like to announce my arrival at lowercase sounds.
i have a profile up and a couple mixes available for download.
check it out:
http://www.lowercasesounds.com/
many plans are under way and i will announce a broadcasting schedule soon.
can you feel the excitement building? :)
more to come soon!
back-words... more about webcasting...
Monday, May 14, 2007
more about webcasting...
while the author may be unusually optimistic about the potential tide of change, there does exist a possibility that things may improve, regardless of the size of that possibility. the shame of it all is the source of this possibility: congress. congress would have to be very heavily politically motivated to bother with intervention at all. frankly, i think the author is barking up a false tree of hope. i foresee that the political sway to motivate congress to intervene will be insufficient to effectively motivate congress. congress could care less or something would have been done sooner. this is grasping at last straws and while i truly do hope congress, or anyone for that matter, stops this mess from going any further, i highly doubt anything will happen. i think the riaa has been proving itself an unstoppable beast of power all along, unbending to the myriads who oppose its will, and i think they will continue to be unstoppable because anyone who has the ability wont bother because they dont care. conversely, anyone who cares cant stop them because they not powerful enough. i think we can oppose them til the cows come home and meet quotas and prerequisites and it will all be quickly pushed under the carpet. i cant help feel that everything would be different if artists owned their own copyrights as authors do. i think this could make all the difference. i think the collective would break down and cease to function.
how about them apples, riaa? maybe we should own our own copyrights? maybe all music should become creative commons? maybe the corporate music industry should quake and fall by its very foundation? yeah, how about that, riaa?
http://www.wired.com/entertainment/music/commentary/listeningpost/2007/05/listeningpost_0514
Webcasters' Doom Could Remix the Future of Music
05.14.07 | 2:00 AM
Ah, the long goodbye. Looming, potentially astronomical royalty-rate hikes first sent webcasters scrambling toward a May 15 deadline, then a July 15 deadline and now, potentially, an indefinite slide all the way into next year. But the outcome looks the same: You can still kiss your favorite online radio station goodbye.
Webcasters will either go out of business trying to pony up the 3 percent to 20 percent pay hikes (up to $110 per online listener each year based on these calculations) or they'll ruin themselves trying. For the user -- who's probably not willing to pay a penny for what's previously been free and doesn't want to suffer through more ads -- that change means less music variety, fewer tool options and far less customization. Yeah, just about everything that makes online radio so great.
But all is not lost. Webcasting may spiral into its own dark ages, but the resulting debate over royalties could drive Congress into overhauling copyright law and finally forcing the music industry, kicking and screaming, into the future (or at least the present).
Of course, that's no help to webcasters now. For the most part, they're pooling efforts to fight the Copyright Review Board's ruling that they pay the new fees to SoundExchange, the former RIAA division tasked with collecting and distributing online radio-licensing fees to artists and labels.
Webcasters are taking a three-pronged approach to finding a solution. They're hoping for a federal judge-issued emergency stay that comes out of the appeal process or a deal with SoundExchange or, perhaps, congressional intervention.
Each option is fraught with obstacles. According to Jake Ward, spokesman for SaveNetRadio, "The law that enacted the royalty is in place. If you go by the theory of legislative inertia ... (webcasters) have an uphill battle to overturn that royalty rate."
Legislative inertia is not enough to stop webcasters from trying to save their skins, of course. Fritz Kass, chief operating officer of the Intercollegiate Broadcasting System, which represents college and non-commercial radio and has appealed the rates: "On June 1, 2007, or soon after, the chief judge ... will lay out dates and times for the parties to present their case.... This process can take several months, or over a year," Kass explained in an email.
DiMA Executive Director Jon Potter said his organization, which represents webcasters large and small, will also file an appeal before the May 31 deadline.
One component of these appeals is the request for an emergency stay to postpone SoundExchange's royalty collection for the duration of the proceedings. Jessica Litman, a law professor at the University of Michigan, and Ross Dannenberg, an attorney at Banner & Witcoff, Ltd., agreed that the yet-to-be-assigned judge will most likely issue this emergency stay.
If the U.S. Court of Appeals in the District of Columbia Circuit confounds expert wisdom by refusing to stay the rates, webcasters such as Pandora and Live365 will face immediate and certain insolvency, as execs wind up writing checks greater than the value of their companies.
"Webcasters are moving forward with the understanding that royalty payments are due July 15th, and that the bill will include all of 2006 and the first five months of 2007," explained SaveNetRadio's Ward. "As it stands, that day will put many thousands of webcasters in the red."
If the appeals fail, an emergency stay won't come cheap for webcasters. Those massive royalty payments will accumulate interest until they are due, and as Litman said, "If the Lexus dealer says 'no money down' for the next 12 months, that doesn't mean you go buy a Lexus."
Webcasters may not even make it onto the proverbial car lot. If the rates stand as July 15th draws near, SoundExchange will almost certainly negotiate to keep webcasters alive -- and Congress out of its hair.
"If SoundExchange wants to keep Congress from getting involved," Litman said, "it's not great strategy to insist on royalties or that (webcasters) shut down. My guess is that if there isn't a stay, SoundExchange will be willing to make an informal arrangement (with webcasters)."
If the court grants the stay, as expected, congressional intervention becomes more likely because SoundExchange would have less incentive to deal with webcasters directly. As both sides plead their cases in appeals court and congressional hearings, neither will be in a position for conciliatory action toward the other -- they'll be too busy making arguments in their own favor.
The House and Senate have already introduced bills that would overturn the new rates in favor of a new scheme that would charge webcasters 7.5 percent of revenue -- the same percentage charged to satellite broadcasters (terrestrial radio stations, profitable for years, are entirely exempt from mechanical licensing, which webcasters, representing a fledgling industry, claim is unfair).
The big question: Why might SoundExchange be so afraid of congressional intervention? And, conversely, why do webcasters want it so badly? Because Congress could do more than just rejigger a royalty rate, and that gets me to my big point: Considering that more than 70 million congressional constituents listen to online radio and webcasters have lobbyists of their own, there might be enough combined influence to balance out the RIAA's considerable lobbying efforts.
Ward said SaveNetRadio "supports any time granted that would enable webcasters to continue broadcasting while a structural solution is pursued in Congress. A structural solution would benefit webcasters and the artists (who) depend on internet radio, so that we don't have to do this every five years."
I couldn't agree more. Congress has the constitutional authority to rebuild copyright law from the ground up and should take this opportunity to do so. Our Byzantine, cobbled-together copyright laws hurt all parties involved, from artists to labels, distributors to fans. They hold the present to ancient standards that make less sense each year.
With any luck, the Copyright Royalty Board's decision, initially so terrifying to the online community, will be seen as a helpful seed in the edifice of copyright law that germinated, cracked the foundation and brought down the whole rickety structure, allowing webcasters, labels and Congress to build something that makes sense today as opposed to 50 years ago.
This may sound optimistic, but it's a possibility -- provided Congress has the gumption to act when the time comes. For now, it's time to heat up some popcorn and watch as the battle unfolds, the lawyers get paid and the future awaits.
more about webcasting...
while the author may be unusually optimistic about the potential tide of change, there does exist a possibility that things may improve, regardless of the size of that possibility. the shame of it all is the source of this possibility: congress. congress would have to be very heavily politically motivated to bother with intervention at all. frankly, i think the author is barking up a false tree of hope. i foresee that the political sway to motivate congress to intervene will be insufficient to effectively motivate congress. congress could care less or something would have been done sooner. this is grasping at last straws and while i truly do hope congress, or anyone for that matter, stops this mess from going any further, i highly doubt anything will happen. i think the riaa has been proving itself an unstoppable beast of power all along, unbending to the myriads who oppose its will, and i think they will continue to be unstoppable because anyone who has the ability wont bother because they dont care. conversely, anyone who cares cant stop them because they not powerful enough. i think we can oppose them til the cows come home and meet quotas and prerequisites and it will all be quickly pushed under the carpet. i cant help feel that everything would be different if artists owned their own copyrights as authors do. i think this could make all the difference. i think the collective would break down and cease to function.
how about them apples, riaa? maybe we should own our own copyrights? maybe all music should become creative commons? maybe the corporate music industry should quake and fall by its very foundation? yeah, how about that, riaa?
http://www.wired.com/entertainment/music/commentary/listeningpost/2007/05/listeningpost_0514
Webcasters' Doom Could Remix the Future of Music
05.14.07 | 2:00 AM
Ah, the long goodbye. Looming, potentially astronomical royalty-rate hikes first sent webcasters scrambling toward a May 15 deadline, then a July 15 deadline and now, potentially, an indefinite slide all the way into next year. But the outcome looks the same: You can still kiss your favorite online radio station goodbye.
Webcasters will either go out of business trying to pony up the 3 percent to 20 percent pay hikes (up to $110 per online listener each year based on these calculations) or they'll ruin themselves trying. For the user -- who's probably not willing to pay a penny for what's previously been free and doesn't want to suffer through more ads -- that change means less music variety, fewer tool options and far less customization. Yeah, just about everything that makes online radio so great.
But all is not lost. Webcasting may spiral into its own dark ages, but the resulting debate over royalties could drive Congress into overhauling copyright law and finally forcing the music industry, kicking and screaming, into the future (or at least the present).
Of course, that's no help to webcasters now. For the most part, they're pooling efforts to fight the Copyright Review Board's ruling that they pay the new fees to SoundExchange, the former RIAA division tasked with collecting and distributing online radio-licensing fees to artists and labels.
Webcasters are taking a three-pronged approach to finding a solution. They're hoping for a federal judge-issued emergency stay that comes out of the appeal process or a deal with SoundExchange or, perhaps, congressional intervention.
Each option is fraught with obstacles. According to Jake Ward, spokesman for SaveNetRadio, "The law that enacted the royalty is in place. If you go by the theory of legislative inertia ... (webcasters) have an uphill battle to overturn that royalty rate."
Legislative inertia is not enough to stop webcasters from trying to save their skins, of course. Fritz Kass, chief operating officer of the Intercollegiate Broadcasting System, which represents college and non-commercial radio and has appealed the rates: "On June 1, 2007, or soon after, the chief judge ... will lay out dates and times for the parties to present their case.... This process can take several months, or over a year," Kass explained in an email.
DiMA Executive Director Jon Potter said his organization, which represents webcasters large and small, will also file an appeal before the May 31 deadline.
One component of these appeals is the request for an emergency stay to postpone SoundExchange's royalty collection for the duration of the proceedings. Jessica Litman, a law professor at the University of Michigan, and Ross Dannenberg, an attorney at Banner & Witcoff, Ltd., agreed that the yet-to-be-assigned judge will most likely issue this emergency stay.
If the U.S. Court of Appeals in the District of Columbia Circuit confounds expert wisdom by refusing to stay the rates, webcasters such as Pandora and Live365 will face immediate and certain insolvency, as execs wind up writing checks greater than the value of their companies.
"Webcasters are moving forward with the understanding that royalty payments are due July 15th, and that the bill will include all of 2006 and the first five months of 2007," explained SaveNetRadio's Ward. "As it stands, that day will put many thousands of webcasters in the red."
If the appeals fail, an emergency stay won't come cheap for webcasters. Those massive royalty payments will accumulate interest until they are due, and as Litman said, "If the Lexus dealer says 'no money down' for the next 12 months, that doesn't mean you go buy a Lexus."
Webcasters may not even make it onto the proverbial car lot. If the rates stand as July 15th draws near, SoundExchange will almost certainly negotiate to keep webcasters alive -- and Congress out of its hair.
"If SoundExchange wants to keep Congress from getting involved," Litman said, "it's not great strategy to insist on royalties or that (webcasters) shut down. My guess is that if there isn't a stay, SoundExchange will be willing to make an informal arrangement (with webcasters)."
If the court grants the stay, as expected, congressional intervention becomes more likely because SoundExchange would have less incentive to deal with webcasters directly. As both sides plead their cases in appeals court and congressional hearings, neither will be in a position for conciliatory action toward the other -- they'll be too busy making arguments in their own favor.
The House and Senate have already introduced bills that would overturn the new rates in favor of a new scheme that would charge webcasters 7.5 percent of revenue -- the same percentage charged to satellite broadcasters (terrestrial radio stations, profitable for years, are entirely exempt from mechanical licensing, which webcasters, representing a fledgling industry, claim is unfair).
The big question: Why might SoundExchange be so afraid of congressional intervention? And, conversely, why do webcasters want it so badly? Because Congress could do more than just rejigger a royalty rate, and that gets me to my big point: Considering that more than 70 million congressional constituents listen to online radio and webcasters have lobbyists of their own, there might be enough combined influence to balance out the RIAA's considerable lobbying efforts.
Ward said SaveNetRadio "supports any time granted that would enable webcasters to continue broadcasting while a structural solution is pursued in Congress. A structural solution would benefit webcasters and the artists (who) depend on internet radio, so that we don't have to do this every five years."
I couldn't agree more. Congress has the constitutional authority to rebuild copyright law from the ground up and should take this opportunity to do so. Our Byzantine, cobbled-together copyright laws hurt all parties involved, from artists to labels, distributors to fans. They hold the present to ancient standards that make less sense each year.
With any luck, the Copyright Royalty Board's decision, initially so terrifying to the online community, will be seen as a helpful seed in the edifice of copyright law that germinated, cracked the foundation and brought down the whole rickety structure, allowing webcasters, labels and Congress to build something that makes sense today as opposed to 50 years ago.
This may sound optimistic, but it's a possibility -- provided Congress has the gumption to act when the time comes. For now, it's time to heat up some popcorn and watch as the battle unfolds, the lawyers get paid and the future awaits.
back-words... a few words on broadcasting...
Saturday, May 5, 2007
a few words on broadcasting...
many of you have tuned into my broadcasts in the past and enjoyed them. that means a lot to me and i thank you for your support. it gives me all the more reason to play and make music.
recently many legal incidents have come into play- incidents that affect how and where i perform. in short, i no longer have a home for broadcasting online. this will not stop me from pursuing my dreams. while i may not be able to broadcast online for a smaller station, that doesnt mean i cant play for an organization who can afford it. it also doesnt mean i cant perform live at venues. i dont care how or where i perform; i will always perform.
i want to thank you for your continued support while my path has been deviated from its present course. i am still producing music, recording mixes, and i am still continuing to share all that i do with the world. theres more than one way to get something accomplished and i will always find a way.
i will keep you all updated regularly about my performances, downloads, and releases. thank you all...
a few words on broadcasting...
many of you have tuned into my broadcasts in the past and enjoyed them. that means a lot to me and i thank you for your support. it gives me all the more reason to play and make music.
recently many legal incidents have come into play- incidents that affect how and where i perform. in short, i no longer have a home for broadcasting online. this will not stop me from pursuing my dreams. while i may not be able to broadcast online for a smaller station, that doesnt mean i cant play for an organization who can afford it. it also doesnt mean i cant perform live at venues. i dont care how or where i perform; i will always perform.
i want to thank you for your continued support while my path has been deviated from its present course. i am still producing music, recording mixes, and i am still continuing to share all that i do with the world. theres more than one way to get something accomplished and i will always find a way.
i will keep you all updated regularly about my performances, downloads, and releases. thank you all...
back-words... this could kill my ability to broadcast...
Wednesday, April 18, 2007
this could kill my ability to broadcast...
as some of you know i have been broadcasting online since 2004. i have been on 6 stations. these days ive been focusing my energy on one. now its looking like i might not have a home to broadcast from anymore, because who wants to pay for permission to play something when theyre not receiving income for it? honestly, i cant say that i would. that would be a drain on my pocket. ive also heard talk of blanket fees becoming a thing of the past. this would be an even greater drain. if things continue to go the way they are now, i may no longer broadcast against my will. its hard enough trying to promote myself by posting free mixes, that when people can no longer tune in to listen, it really hurts my efforts to be a successful dj. it was also a way to promote my own production, but if stations shut down, then it becomes hard to promote myself as well. some of you may say that shoutcast is the answer. believe me, shoutcast is not the answer. i have been using shoutcast off an on. a major draw back is hosting yourself based on your computers own power. that only allows most people 3-6 listeners. a lot of djs average 15-20 on their hosted station. now thats a severe loss in listenership. the likelihood of the right listener with the right connection for a dj being one of those three listeners is highly unlikely at that rate. this becomes a problem for those of us striving for something better in life than playing for shits n giggles...
source:
http://www.betanews.com/article/Copyright_Board_Upholds_Decision_Internet_Royalty_Rates_Proceed/1176761824
Copyright Board Upholds Decision; Internet Royalty Rates Proceed
By Scott M. Fulton, III, BetaNews
April 16, 2007, 6:24 PM
Stating that Internet streaming broadcasters' objections had neither put forth new evidence nor presented any clear sign that they had made some egregious error, the three-judge US Copyright Royalty Board this afternoon ruled it would not stay its own decision last month imposing a massive, per-performance rate increase on Internet streaming broadcasters, beginning in 2008.
"We find...that none of the moving parties [that requested a rehearing] have made a sufficient showing of new evidence or a clear error or manifest injustice that would warrant a rehearing," the judges wrote. "To the contrary...most of the parties' arguments in support of a rehearing or reconsideration merely restate arguments that were made or evidence that was presented during the proceeding." While those who objected to the rates, which included National Public Radio, argued that they were putting forth new evidence, the judges wrote that such evidence was either already in the record or "could have been discovered during the proceeding, with reasonable diligence."
.. -->
However, in what could be a glimmer of hope for streaming music providers and radio stations with streaming channels, the CRB did rule that it would not impose the per-performance rate retroactive to 2006 and 2007. Instead, it would impose an increase on the "aggregate tuning hour" (ATH) method that had been employed before, but which earlier legislation had enabled streamers to forego.
While the new ATH rates will represent a rise over 2005, they may not be as intolerable as the per-performance rates. BetaNews projects, based on ATH ratings for November 2006, AOL Radio - the nation's largest streaming provider - could owe retroactive royalties of about $946,000. Likewise, Launchcast may owe $700,000, Clear Channel $365,000, and Live365.com $264,000. Had the originally planned rate gone into effect, AOL Radio might have owed $23.6 million for 2006.
A somewhat higher ATH rate will be in effect for 2007, the judges decided, though the amount that the SoundExchange performance royalty organization would collect on behalf of performing artists would still be lower than previously anticipated. But for 2008, the $0.0014 per performance rate would take effect. While that may seem impossibly small on the surface, consider the cost when multiplied by as many as 30 trillion individual song performances per year.
In a statement issued just after the ruling, SoundExchange Executive Director John Simson wrote, "Our artists and labels look forward to working with the Internet Radio industry - large and small, commercial and non-commercial - so that together we can ensure it succeeds as a place where great music is available to music lovers of all genres."
But as Trevor Moyer comments on the blog Save Our Internet Radio, "So according to the CRB, their decision, which will effectively wipe out almost all of U.S.-based Internet radio - thousands of small webcasters, college radio streaming, NPR on the net, and services like Pandora to name a few categories - is NOT a manifest injustice. Wow."
From here, the affected parties have 30 days to appeal this decision to the US Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia. This will likely happen. Meanwhile, streaming providers have until May 15 to pay their 2006 dues, which for some may be crippling though not fatal. And opponents of the new scheme may yet find their long-sought audience with Congress. If so, legislation may be able to change the course set by copyright judges before the Court of Appeals hears the case - which industry lawyers believe might not happen for another year, at best.
this could kill my ability to broadcast...
as some of you know i have been broadcasting online since 2004. i have been on 6 stations. these days ive been focusing my energy on one. now its looking like i might not have a home to broadcast from anymore, because who wants to pay for permission to play something when theyre not receiving income for it? honestly, i cant say that i would. that would be a drain on my pocket. ive also heard talk of blanket fees becoming a thing of the past. this would be an even greater drain. if things continue to go the way they are now, i may no longer broadcast against my will. its hard enough trying to promote myself by posting free mixes, that when people can no longer tune in to listen, it really hurts my efforts to be a successful dj. it was also a way to promote my own production, but if stations shut down, then it becomes hard to promote myself as well. some of you may say that shoutcast is the answer. believe me, shoutcast is not the answer. i have been using shoutcast off an on. a major draw back is hosting yourself based on your computers own power. that only allows most people 3-6 listeners. a lot of djs average 15-20 on their hosted station. now thats a severe loss in listenership. the likelihood of the right listener with the right connection for a dj being one of those three listeners is highly unlikely at that rate. this becomes a problem for those of us striving for something better in life than playing for shits n giggles...
source:
http://www.betanews.com/article/Copyright_Board_Upholds_Decision_Internet_Royalty_Rates_Proceed/1176761824
Copyright Board Upholds Decision; Internet Royalty Rates Proceed
By Scott M. Fulton, III, BetaNews
April 16, 2007, 6:24 PM
Stating that Internet streaming broadcasters' objections had neither put forth new evidence nor presented any clear sign that they had made some egregious error, the three-judge US Copyright Royalty Board this afternoon ruled it would not stay its own decision last month imposing a massive, per-performance rate increase on Internet streaming broadcasters, beginning in 2008.
"We find...that none of the moving parties [that requested a rehearing] have made a sufficient showing of new evidence or a clear error or manifest injustice that would warrant a rehearing," the judges wrote. "To the contrary...most of the parties' arguments in support of a rehearing or reconsideration merely restate arguments that were made or evidence that was presented during the proceeding." While those who objected to the rates, which included National Public Radio, argued that they were putting forth new evidence, the judges wrote that such evidence was either already in the record or "could have been discovered during the proceeding, with reasonable diligence."
.. -->
However, in what could be a glimmer of hope for streaming music providers and radio stations with streaming channels, the CRB did rule that it would not impose the per-performance rate retroactive to 2006 and 2007. Instead, it would impose an increase on the "aggregate tuning hour" (ATH) method that had been employed before, but which earlier legislation had enabled streamers to forego.
While the new ATH rates will represent a rise over 2005, they may not be as intolerable as the per-performance rates. BetaNews projects, based on ATH ratings for November 2006, AOL Radio - the nation's largest streaming provider - could owe retroactive royalties of about $946,000. Likewise, Launchcast may owe $700,000, Clear Channel $365,000, and Live365.com $264,000. Had the originally planned rate gone into effect, AOL Radio might have owed $23.6 million for 2006.
A somewhat higher ATH rate will be in effect for 2007, the judges decided, though the amount that the SoundExchange performance royalty organization would collect on behalf of performing artists would still be lower than previously anticipated. But for 2008, the $0.0014 per performance rate would take effect. While that may seem impossibly small on the surface, consider the cost when multiplied by as many as 30 trillion individual song performances per year.
In a statement issued just after the ruling, SoundExchange Executive Director John Simson wrote, "Our artists and labels look forward to working with the Internet Radio industry - large and small, commercial and non-commercial - so that together we can ensure it succeeds as a place where great music is available to music lovers of all genres."
But as Trevor Moyer comments on the blog Save Our Internet Radio, "So according to the CRB, their decision, which will effectively wipe out almost all of U.S.-based Internet radio - thousands of small webcasters, college radio streaming, NPR on the net, and services like Pandora to name a few categories - is NOT a manifest injustice. Wow."
From here, the affected parties have 30 days to appeal this decision to the US Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia. This will likely happen. Meanwhile, streaming providers have until May 15 to pay their 2006 dues, which for some may be crippling though not fatal. And opponents of the new scheme may yet find their long-sought audience with Congress. If so, legislation may be able to change the course set by copyright judges before the Court of Appeals hears the case - which industry lawyers believe might not happen for another year, at best.
back-words... stop the madness...
Tuesday, March 20, 2007
stop the madness...
ok, looky here, another company having troubles with the riaa -- and a highly recognized and respected name at that -- is having fears of business loss over this runaway train also known as the riaa.
i get infuriated because i want to dj and produce edm til i die, or at least into my 60s/70s. i feel like i am being stripped bit by bit (no pun intended) of a livelihood that has grown to be my deepest passion. i have worked in many career/job fields. i came back to music, not only because its what i do best, but also because it is what i love. i want to live off of making music, entertaining and delighting listeners and dancers with my craft.
djs mix because they promote a sound, not because they claim music as their own work. why should a dj have to pay to promote what isnt theirs? a lot of djs also produce when they mix. theyre not getting paid to produce. most internet djs dont get paid at all, theyre playing to entertain and to promote their own skill and craft and selective talent. most internet edm djs are in a separate class than mainstream djs. the music is already underground in most cases. the riaa is shutting down something they have no right to shut down.
please do something about this. please use the links provided. please nurture the scene that fosters unconditional acceptance. please help...
Digitally Imported Blog
.. Begin #content --> .. Begin #main -->
Monday, March 12, 2007
.. Begin .post -->
New Music Royalty Rates May Shut Down Internet Radio
On Friday March 2nd, the U.S. government, through the Copyright Royalty Board (CRB), made a determination of the royalty rates Internet Radio webcasters must pay the owners of sound recording copyrights to license the music they webcast for the years 2006-2010. The license is paid to SoundExchange, a nonprofit organization that collects royalty payments from digital music broadcasters and distributes them to rights holders.
The issue is that the new rates completely ignore the business and market realities of Internet Radio. In a nutshell they expect many webcasters, such as at Digitally Imported, to pay far greater money for licensing than we ever even collect from all of our services, effectively driving webcasters out of business.
For commercial and for larger non-commercial webcasters the judges set a pay-per-play rate of:
* $.0008 per play for 2006
* $.0011 per play for 2007
* $.0014 per play for 2008
* $.0018 per play for 2009
* $.0019 per play for 2010
No need to adjust your glasses, you are seeing it correctly. Not only are the rates outrageous but they also continue to increase wildly every year. For example, by 2007 the rate jumps 37% from 2006!
SaveTheStreams.org has sample calculations here on what it means to stream to 10,000 concurrent listeners on average, if you are interested in the fine details. And keep in mind that Digitally Imported has far more listeners than in that example. We are talking about rates which are hundreds of % more than the revenues webcasters generate, even before any expenses for things such as wages, resources, hardware, and so on. How judges can come up with such numbers is beyond me. What we do know is that Digitally Imported was part of a collective of small commercial broadcasters which presented its arguments in court proceedings. Yet the judges completely threw virtually all of our arguments aside in making their decision.
What's ironic is that even if the Internet radio advertising market was fully mature, which it isn't, and we played as many audio ads for you as we could - then not only we'd be in for a prize for most ads played by any entity, as one other webcaster joked. But we still would be very far from reaching the required revenue numbers and being able to pay such rates. It's just completely unrealistic to expect any sort of a model to exist both now and in next years that would come close to being able to justify these rates. Maybe the big corporations of the world such as Yahoo and AOL could in theory afford to loose on such rates and still provide music, but that doesn't mean all other businesses have to go as a result. Do you really want to have just a few big corporations playing the music for you in the future?
You may ask us about why don't we just play unlicensed tracks or make an agreement with artists directly to avoid paying so much. The reality of the business is that it is virtually impossible to micromanage things this way. You'd have to have a world class communication company to be able to track down so many artists or labels, find where who is, who to contact, what forms to sign, talk them into it, etc. Plus you'd be surprised just how much of the non-mainstream music you love so much here is really signed to a label. That's why in theory the law that allows for a blanket license is really convenient - it's just that the rates which were set now are truly hopeless and stifle any kind of competition. What are we supposed to do, wave a flag and and turn into a payola service? Put a banner out that says "hey, whoever pays us the most in advance gets to have his or her track heard on the radio!"? Because that's the only model that is going to work with these rates.
This All Sounds Familiar, What Happened Last Time?
If this all sounds familiar it is because it is very similar to what happened the last time around 2002 and the Day of Silence campaign. Then too very bad rates were proposed for the period up until the end of 2005. Much hype was raised because then as now the industry was about to die. You wonderful listeners wrote in droves to your congressmen whether by submitting online forms, emails, letters, or phone calls, and they in turn heard your message. With the urging of Congressmen last time, SoundExchange and the small commercial webcasters such as Digitally Imported settled on a deal (SWSA) that allowed us to pay a percentage of revenue or expenses instead of per performance, with the rates ranging around 10-12%. Even though officially the rates set by the Copyright Royalty Board (CRB) last time were also bad, this negotiated deal allowed us to use another model and continue to exist. There was no such option allowed by the CRB this time, and the jury's still out on whether anything will be negotiated like it was last time.
WHAT YOU CAN DO TO HELP, AND IT TAKES 2 MINUTES
After careful consideration we feel that the most efficient course of action would be to send a note to your own Congresspeople complaining about the issue, stating that it is important to you and that you want them to help solve it.
To do so we are providing an easy link for you, there's even prepared text for you to Copy and Paste. Please go to this link at Congress.org, check the text there and copy it, and by just inputting your zip code you can digitally send in the letter to your congresspeople. This really helps!
Of course the more you spread this message among friends and the media, the more attention it grabs and the more pressure there is on everyone to overturn or settle the matter before it is too late.
Also see the new post about Other Ways To Help and Donate, which has been added since after numerous requests.
On behalf of Team Digitally Imported, and all our other fellow webcasters, we thank you for your support once again. It was a miracle that last time around we were able to do something through these actions, there's no reason why it cannot work again. Thank you for your few minutes of time to help in this matter.
Sincerely,
Ari Shohat
Founder & Manager
Digitally Imported, Inc.
http://www.di.fm/ http://www.sky.fm/
..>digg_url='http://digg.com/tech_news/New_Streaming_Royalty_Rates_also_threaten_Digitally_Imported_Radio';..>
.. src="http://digg.com/api/diggthis.js">..>
posted by Ari at 5:39 PM
.. End .post -->.. Begin #comments -->
98 Comments:
Anonymous said...
This is rather scary news as DI.fm is amazing. Is there anything that your users can do if they do not live in the US?
Thanks Chris
P.S. You should put more information about this on your main page,
1:31 PM
Anonymous said...
Oh my god, that is terrible. :o
I second the "put it on the main page". Make it bold and red.
I stumbled upon this by accident. :(
4:40 PM
Anonymous said...
What if you only play non-licensed music?
2:40 PM
Miljan said...
I became a paid member moments ago and the first thing I accidentally found on the site was the following piece of information: "New Music Royalty Rates Are About To Shut Down Internet Radio... Stay tuned here as I explain in next few days how this is going to kill us soon unless..."
: )
Looking forward to hearing more on this one.
2:19 PM
Anonymous said...
My understanding, is that it has nothing to do with any form of licensing. All music played will incur a charge to be paid to SoundExchange, and its up to the artist to collect the royalties from SoundExchange. In theory this ruling does apply to non-US based listeners, so DI could continue to broadcast to anyone outside the US. Quite ironic.
2:56 PM
Anonymous said...
Thats neat, but for those of us in fact in the US this would be horrible! I've put up bulletins on myspace to try and get the word out as well as forums. Hopefully this can be stopped eh?
10:02 PM
Anonymous said...
The true reality is I listen to your di.fm because of your 'content'. Personally I think if you could get the artists to pay for your radio. Di.fm are much better equipped and culturally to present it the right way, as I have discovered it.
ps. good luck with the fight.
10:47 PM
Anonymous said...
Anyways...you don't even profit from it...other than advertise the artists, correctly....not destroy it...i guess in the case of underground music vs commercial...just like in the real world...get the hint...sometimes to provide quality...keep doing what you guys do best...because it definitely promotes the artists much much better...rather than some commercial avenues...keep the fight...
10:58 PM
Anonymous said...
Time to move the servers to Europe heh. This is really rediculous.
11:04 PM
Michael O'Hara said...
I think the royality increases for Internet Radio is nothing short of egregious and downright greedy. I sincerely hope that my representatives will be able to vote against this bill or I'll just have to vote them out :)
12:06 AM
Anonymous said...
Don't worry. All you have to do is set up your servers and credit card processing thru offshore destinations that are non complaint to US laws and court orders.
12:31 AM
David said...
How hypocritical it is of any governmental body or corporation to do anything to destroy any form of e-commerce. The Internet is still too new and needs to be given time to grow. Between this new development and the extent the government has gone to stifle Internet gaming, I am appalled.
1:42 AM
Anonymous said...
I wonder that you mustn't pay for playing bevor now! In Germany we pay since Internetradio is possible! Good Luck!
2:05 AM
Anonymous said...
You should start thinking about moving servers and headquarters to Europe. USA is becoming more and more pro-corporate.
Good luck!
5:02 AM
Kyle said...
You know all this does? It works aggressively to push down market competition, force companies overseas or underground - it is anticompetetive in the greatest sense.
Where on earth do these judges get their arguments from? Their rulings? This is totally absurd and is the polar opposite - the antithesis - of logic.
5:09 AM
Anonymous said...
Sounds like USA are getting as shitty as France in terms of music rights management.
7:09 AM
Anonymous said...
Sounds like they are just squeezing the properly run sites like DI and encouraging the crooked underground ones that will never pay anything! It defies belief that they think this is going to work. At the moment they are getting a healthy chunk from the internet, but soon they will get nothing because they will shut down all the stations. goose and golden egg spring to mind! -Dogfax
8:07 AM
L2 said...
Well, that's the music industry for ya. They just want the money, that's it.
9:47 AM
Yogiyosh said...
This is just another example of how greedy the music industry is, the copyright associations in the U.S and U.K mainly want to squeeze every last drop of cash out of radio stations and anybody else.
They use varying arguments that unlicensed airplay is effecting the artists, they allegedly represent. In fact the artists are well looked after.
It makes me sick to think that corporate greed will ruin internet radio stations, such as DI...which in mine and many others opinions is a truely fantastic service.
A final word; what happens when all the radio stations have been squeezed out of business due to crippling charges being levvied, I'm sure the copyright associations would have something to complain about when virtually no income was being raised?
10:36 AM
Anonymous said...
Dieter Lanckman Belgium
What can we do in Europe?
A lot of people love di
Grtz
11:14 AM
Anonymous said...
Totally sucks ... all music I listen to anymore is online. In fact it's not even available elsewhere. The actual radio stations in my area don't even come close.
Yep, time to move the servers
11:14 AM
jason said...
Well I don't know what I can do as I am from UK.
At the end of the day the artists will lose out on thousands in royalty if you go out of business and I don't think they're about to let that happen so I wouldn't worry about it. They'll accept whatever royalty you offer so just continue to do what you're doing.
Regards, JayUK.
12:01 PM
Anonymous said...
This post has been removed by a blog administrator.
12:17 PM
Anonymous said...
Sigh.. *shakes fist*
12:17 PM
Anonymous said...
has anyone checked to see who the executives and backers of Soundexchange are? Are they simply a front for the major labels? Might this be a anti-trust suit waiting to happen?
12:20 PM
Anonymous said...
Can non-US citizens send lease to the congress to stop this blasphemy? If all goes down the shitter, you're always welcome to relocate to Canada where we have no laws! :D
Best of luck to everyone.
12:35 PM
Anonymous said...
Thats really awful !!!
For me this is a try to reduce the variety of the internet. Less channels, less music, only playing the mainstream-shit.
1:12 PM
Anonymous said...
this so sucks! i hope di.fm doesnt close down :( i was just about to subscribe for year, and im getting broadband in weeks time just for di!!! dont take it away, how can overseas people help?
lets all hope and pray :)
1:57 PM
Anonymous said...
i too thought relocating the servers/biz elsewhere. i'm wondering if this is a real possiblity? the jack-booted music industry may prosecute americans doing this?
2:26 PM
GABE said...
So if we did have to subscribe, how much would it be?
This SUCKS
DI.fm is one of the best things on the internet.
2:29 PM
Andy said...
We are such a weatly country and still "We don't make enough money to support ourself, so we had to go and inforce these royalties". This is sad news. Instead of doing something about wars that affect our economy we're killing small business. DI.Fm is excellent radio station, with superb playlist. I would really hate to see it go..
2:38 PM
jukommerce said...
In countries with a high tax-rate there is a lot of offshore-banking;
Even in countries where is no democracy there is an opposition;
I think quality will always survive... so we'll keep DI.FM!!!!
But for the USA this is very bad news. Your country will loose marketshare, will loose tax-income and such bad decisions have serious impact on your country's reputation.
2:49 PM
Anonymous said...
I find it irresponsible that congress would even consider such a thing. How much of that money collected actually gets to an artist and how much goes to the bureaucracy of administering it and the salaries of the board of directors of this so called non profit organization?? Working with many artists myself I know the amount collected in Royalties from these third parties are so nominal if at all - that Touring is the only way the artist makes a living. The more listeners the more likely they will have more sold out shows and merch sales.
2:56 PM
Anonymous said...
Pavel Gruev, Bulgaria
A classical case of cutting down the hen that lays golden eggs, just to get a couple of eggs this very moment.
The artists will lose most in the long run, but obviously this is of no concern to the major labels.
I really appreciate listening to your radio and sincerely hope that this stupid law will be changed.
All the best!
3:29 PM
Anonymous said...
really bad news, but aren't laws different in other countries, that di.fm would kind of move their services to another country...
not sure if this could be accomplished easy but its really bad to hear that.
3:37 PM
Rick Dawson said...
Is there anything non US people can do?
I will be putting a post on my blog shortly about this, and linking to here.
4:08 PM
Anonymous said...
I advise you send an e-mail to the folks at the RIAA and SoundExchange and tell them how many music purchases you have made in the last year because of something you heard on Internet radio.
Here is an example; the e-mail I wrote to John Simson, Executive Director of SoundExchange:
Quote:
Mr. Simson,
As an avid listener of Internet radio, I can attest to the marked increase in the amount of music purchases I have made in the last year since I became a DI.fm and RadioParadise.com listener.
I have my favorite terrestrial radio stations I listen to, as well (KINK 102 FM, Portland Oregon), but they do not completely satisfy my eclectic taste in music. As a result of my terrestrial radio listening, I have purchased three CD's in the last 12 months. As a result of my Internet radio listening, I have purchased 5 CD's and well over 150 songs from iTunes and Beatport in the last 12 months.
Internet radio reaches an audience that conventional radio formats never will. The CRB's rate hike will erect huge barriers Internet radio industry, making it an unprofitable venture and limiting choices for consumers. If you price your customers out of the market, then where is your revenue going to come from? And, if I don't get to hear music I like, I won't be buying it!
I stronly urge the RIAA and SoundExchange to reconsider their stance on this issue.
4:40 PM
Anonymous said...
I'm ashamed to be a citizen of this "free" country...
9:20 PM
Anonymous said...
For all listeners who don't live in the US I just have one warning: If the digital rights laws do not effect you directly today, they will once the record companies have assumed total control in the US. They follow the motto: "Today the US, tomorrow the world" At the moment they need the support of the US legislators. Once they have everything they want from them, they will probably move their HQ to Dubai or some other contry where they don't have to pay taxes.
And the US citizens like sheep will accept this just like they accept billions of taxpayers $ being paid to Haliburton who then moves their HQ to Dubai to avoid paying taxes.
I guess if big corporations treat US taxpayers like suckers, these citizens will behave like suckers.
Sorry for rambling ... I am mad.
9:53 PM
Anonymous said...
eh loko soy de argentina y es un bajon eso que lei ...ojala sigan como siempre asi salto de loko en mi habitacion
9:54 PM
Anonymous said...
This radio station better not close down else I will be pissed!!!
10:10 PM
Anonymous said...
This radio station better not close down else I will be pissed!!!
10:10 PM
Anonymous said...
This is stright more bs from the us gov. They just want to suck everyone dry, so they can keep all of what they get, ITS NOT LIKE PEOPLE WHO MAKE MUSIC DONT SELL IT, PEOPLE LISTEN TO IT ON DI.FM and THEN GO BUY IT! YOU ARE SUPPORTING THEM! AND THEY WANT MORE LIKE THE BLOODHOUNDS THEY ARE.
12:05 AM
Lady Rumplestiltskin said...
Do you really want to have just a few big corporations playing the music for you in the future?
Hell no! They don't even play some of the cool songs you guys have for each DIFM channel -- instead, we'll be gettin' Brittany Spears 24/7! My hearing is going NUMB just thinking about it!
Damn straight I'm sendin' a letter of concern to my congressmen and do anything to help keep Digitally Imported alive -- even for the hard rock junkies XD
12:33 AM
Anonymous said...
Sorry, this was the largest Bullshit i ever hear. Which one of all Electronic-Musicans becomes really the Money you must spend??
I think it will be under 1%.
The most people who produce some Sounds do it because them want a better World with more freedom.
The problem is the commercial RnB and HipHop- Scene, them kill the feelings and the Power from the real Music.
I was DJ since a long Time, and i can tell you that it gives millions of people who makes some Sound with the Computer. And here is the Problem; who Contact all of its and bring them the Money??
No one.
Dont spend something, it flows in the wrong direction. It flows in the capitalistic Scene who pray for War and Destruction...
We want a better World? Why we dont do?
Lovely greetings from Chris/Switzerland
4:13 AM
Anonymous said...
I'm so sorry and so sad when hearing this seriously bad news :(!
I'm currently living outside of the US and don't know how to help out you guys at Sky.fm/di.fm with at least a complaining letter to Congresspeople. Nevertheless, I've been actually a foreign audience of your Internet radio station for a pretty long time ago, since the day I incidental found out your station streaming address in my iTunes. I have to say that you guys are really cool and I appreciate your earnest endeavors to actively produce and give out such quality webcasted channels. I wish I could partly contribute something to oppose against this new music royalty rates but everything appears that outside US people is hard to exert their influence to your local government.
Best wishes to you all.
Another lovely greeting from Nguyen/Vietnam.
10:51 AM
Anonymous said...
What horrible news!
Move the office to Canada (then I have a hope of working for you too! ^_~)
Seriously, the artists make money from hard work, like concerts and shows. Its the recording studios who make all the money from the broadcasts.
If we don't keep the small and independent guys running, the world 's only choice will be Britney or Christina! We won't get to pick anything but mainstream!
I love listening to DI.fm, ever since I stumbled upon it a few months ago.
I even listen to it while playing Warcraft.
You guys are great, keep up the good work.
Let us know how us foreigners can help too!
2:53 PM
Anonymous said...
I wrote the letter, I reposted this on my blog and will be sure to put a sign up about it on Inspire Beach in second life ! We stream DI.fm chillout there 90% of the time!
Everyone loves it and I'm sure brings you new listeners everyday.
5:55 PM
Anonymous said...
corporations want to control everything!!
6:49 PM
Anonymous said...
This is horrible! I am nearly addicted to DI.FM for 2 years now, the only station without bla bla..
How can I react and make a statement? I live in Holland, Europe. I want to help.
7:42 PM
Anonymous said...
Is their something we can workout with the royalty rates. Don't get rid of the radio station. Im sure we can work something out. Let the music keep playing.
8:04 PM
Anonymous said...
DI.fm please keep fighting for us listeners we got your back. We want to help to!
8:10 PM
Anonymous said...
We pay for our membership we pay to download songs. What is the BIG problem. Everything is one hundread percent legal. Government go attack some other corporation scaming people out of money.
8:24 PM
Anonymous said...
We pay for our membership we pay to download songs. What is the BIG problem. Everything is one hundread percent legal. Government go attack some other corporation scaming people out of money.
8:24 PM
kandiravah said...
Well....looks like the government's at it again....I don't object to the artists and record companies getting what's due them....but it certainly looks like the government's out to kill off anything that's not a big corporate outlet...like Clear Channel..which owns ALL the major stations in my town....and plays absolutely nothing worth listening to. Not to mention that this would also limit exposure to anything other than what the corporate goons play...maybe it is time to move the servers to a more friendly place...
9:14 PM
Anonymous said...
If it comes down to it, I'd be happy to pay $15/mo for digitally imported. Sure beats anything the sat radio offers for the same price.
I'm not condoning what they are doing, as there doesn't seem to be any room for negotiation. And business is all about negotiation. This is just another attempt from the record companies to stifle innovation, even though they are still making money off it. I really wish the government would stay out of the business world. They can't even balance their own budget, but they'll screw up the market without even batting an eyelash.
10:27 PM
Anonymous said...
I think it is a bunch of nonsense. This has to be about the big corps wanting to step on the samll guys. Think about it, Digitally Imported is far better that any Clear Channle FM statioin I know of an they know it. So what do they do, get a judge who wants to get paid to try to shut the net radio down. A bunch of BS. I host a one man online mix show broadcast and I do not want these guys coming after me for this crap.
Did they think about how mush it already cost to host a live stream with a large number of cuncurrent listeners? WOW. I am just pissed. Pissed. Here I am trying to get a small business off the ground broadcasting and these alreay rich guys tell me I have to pay so much that I could never make it happen. Man, I am trying not to curse but I want to just say these guys are dumb mutha*&^%@s'. Let us get our and help the music scene.
1:56 AM
Anonymous said...
THEY ARE INSANE
No other better explanation.
Mp3 and radio streams stimpulate Sales for events and and artists will definetly gain more from such streams.
Abolishing them is a blasphame against helping emerging artists !
7:01 AM
John said...
Blogged it. johndball.com
8:24 AM
Anonymous said...
This is bad. Once again the music suffers and so to, do the people who listen to it. Record companies should be happy at their music being promoted, people listen, like the track/album and go and buy it. I think the artists who make it should complain also as their music is not getting the best widespread audience available. First DRM now this when will it stop!!!!!! The industry Execs are too greedy!!!
Thanks to all at DI.fm for a great choice in music and a great service.
9:56 AM
Anonymous said...
U.S. government realy disappointed me , first they banned betting and now they try to destroy all online radios !! what a pity.
Could Di.fm move offshore so can do business totally free of any charges??
Cheers.
Abtin
12:57 PM
Anonymous said...
I wrote my congressman...but frankly...why should the ARTISTS not be paid. Free radio! Sign me up! What about more commercials? (Yep...sucks...but it would pay the bills.) What about 1 month free then EVERYONE subscribes...or has to.
There is no free ride.
4:57 PM
Anonymous said...
This is not good, Im from the uk, and DI is the only station I listen to, no one else plays such a wide range of good soul grabbing music as you do.
There must be some thing we can do over here in the uk and other countries to help you guys out?
No DI, would be devastating, keep up the excellent work and carry on playing them great tunes.
Cheers guys, Luke.
5:13 PM
sprawk said...
I just sent an e-mail to both my senators (Jon Kyle & John McCain) and my Congressman (Raúl M. Grijalva) with an edited version of the original plea e-mail:
As your constituent and a fan of Internet radio, I was alarmed to learn
that music royalty rates were recently determined by the Copyright Royalty
Board (CRB) which, if enacted, would certainly silence most or all of my
favorite online listening services. For most webcasters, this royalty rate
represents more than 100% of their total revenues!
The shuttering of the webcasting industry would be a loss for not only
independent business owners, but also for musical artists, for copyright
owners, and for listeners like me who enjoy the wide variety of choices
available via Internet radio. Internet radio stations currently provide a
legal way for listeners like myself to discover new music. Often times on
the sites discussion boards you can speak with the artist, get to know
them, and I feel that this detracts from piracy. I am currently paying for
a premium subscription to an internet radio station (http://di.fm) and
feel it would be an absolute travesty to see good sites like this go down
due to a lack of light being shed on this situation.
I respectfully request that your office look into this matter and initiate
action to prevent it. As the CRB rate decision is retroactive to January
1, 2006, please understand that time is of the essence -- as the immediate
impact of this decision could silence many Internet radio stations
forever.
Sincerely,
Timothy T.
(555)555-5555
Are you a registered voter?: Yes
Did you vote in the last election?: No
Age: 19
Gender: Male
Would you like a reply?: Yes
So I hope that helps. Digg.com is big on this too.
5:13 PM
Razare said...
Wrote my congress person about this, but I don't expect it to turn out well.
It comes down to which force is greater...
Corporate $$$ or Internet Radio Listeners
Sadly, the first is much more powerful and will be for as far as anyone can tell. Decent internet radio will probably die off now.
10:39 PM
Anonymous said...
This is sad. I love this radio station!!. I really hope that you will be running for a long time. I am not american, other wise i would have wrote to my congresspeople. My heart and mind are with you in your fight.
12:01 AM
jayson knight said...
Manual trackback here: http://jaysonknight.com/blog/archive/2007/03/16/save-internet-radio.aspx
12:10 AM
Anonymous said...
SRY DI... You,ve been wonderful...
tony
1:37 PM
Vitesse said...
why do you simply broadcast from canada and play only international music. If american company doesn't have anywere to be listen maybe they change their mind? Canadian and european artiste make realy good music and not only in the electronic domain like di.fm
9:00 PM
Anonymous said...
this is horrible, i think you should make a small add about this in between tracks so more people learn about this and can help.
I hope we can fight this.
2:52 AM
Anonymous said...
from Bake_Seaweed
why don't we just play unlicensed tracks
CHEER and PEACE
6:07 AM
Anonymous said...
from Bake_Seaweed
why don't we just play unlicensed tracks... there is too many KILL OUT dj's out in this WORLD
CHEER AND PEACE
6:10 AM
Danmark said...
Similar processes are not only limited to DI.fm : sign of the times ?
Anyhow, I have messaged USA buddies to encourage them to http://www.congress.org/congressorg/issues/alert/?alertid=9461656&content_dir=ua_congressorg&mailid=custom
I didn't subscribe to DI.fm Premium to see my beloved Internet Radio station disappear !
7:20 AM
Anonymous said...
Its like you open a shop and sell bread for 5 cents, then you start to sell it at 5 dollers... guess what no one buys your bread. It dont figure..
Internet radio stations shut down... they then get no money... eh. So what is the point???
9:02 AM
Anonymous said...
I don't believe in much anymore but one thing I do is internet radio. Just another pathetic move by the music industry. I spit in their faces. Another insult that affects so many people just to make a few richer. I say off with their heads.
5:52 PM
Anonymous said...
Sounds like it's time to "sell" digitally imported to it's future parent company/shell: Digitally Imported Cayman Islands, Inc.
5:58 PM
Anonymous said...
MOVE YOUR SERVERS TO CANADA. WE LOVE DI HERE. I HAVE HOSTED PARTIES STREAMING DI! WE ARE ALL HERE TO HELP.
10:45 PM
Anonymous said...
wow!!! just another way to put people down!! cant they not just leave us HAPPY PEOPLE alone?!!!
hope it gets to b solved soon...
DI is my fav radio channel, i have played 3 different sets here and will play loads more soon, would do anything to help!!
dj deeb
3:59 AM
Anonymous said...
DI is great! I have been listening to you for over three years. I hope nothing ruins my experience with DI. By far you are the #1 broadcast station on the WWW.
12:41 PM
Anonymous said...
Land of the free HMMM
3:32 PM
BoneZ said...
DI is the greatest internet radio on the web and the only one i listen to. Anything we can do DI, you let us know. I for one am not letting DI go that easily.
4:03 PM
Anonymous said...
I know that by looking at the rates quickly, the might SEEM very high. But think about this...
Premium users pay $6.95 per month to listen to DI.FM. Using the rates outlined for 2007 (.0011 per song), and assuming that you listen to an average of 10 hours of music per week, it would cost DI.FM 75 cents ($0.75) to pay for my music royalties - leaving them with $6.20.
This might be an issue for free listening, but it certainly will not be an issue for people even a small fee to listen to music.
4:32 PM
Anonymous said...
this is bullshit!
I live in a small country town and we have almost no radio here other than local government radio.
How am i ever going to hear psychedelic music if the shut internet radio?
This just sucks
11:00 PM
Ari said...
To the person few comments above doing the calculations for Premium service: these rates apply mostly to non-subscription services, considering about 98% of our audience doesn't pay to listen this arguement is pointless as it doesn't apply to a real life scenerio.
11:51 AM
harri the greek said...
dont even think of shuting D.I down
find a way to keep us alive. we need you. no D.I no reason to live.make everybody subscribe.they dont know what they re missing.
unbelivable station and musik
I LOVE YOU.
1:48 PM
Jeff said...
This would be an insane tragedy ... di has helped me get where I am with production, and because of it, im signed. I would HATE for such a great resource and community to be shut down because people dont digg free promotion.
3:11 PM
Anonymous said...
Sigh, they're stupid aren't they eh?
What a shame that non US people can't do anything about it.
Or can they? How?
You should make the link on the main page much bigger, to be honest.
7:43 PM
Anonymous said...
Ari, this is of course the issue, these rates are not worked out on a ‘real life’ scenario.
It sounds very much to me like the person above is suggesting that this rate has been developed, to try and get money for the record industry from Internet radio listeners... now that is a surprise... not.
8:02 PM
david said...
Anyone read the press release from Soundexchange, the body who controls payments - read this section -
We believe internet radio broadcasters are our partners
and it is our strong desire to see a thriving online radio marketplace. However,
such a marketplace cannot be sustained without music, and the decision of the
CRB fully recognizes and reflects this fact.
Thriving on line... more like no more on line. And look at that, Internet radio needs music.. eh yep and it looks like you have it all Soundexchange!
8:22 PM
Anonymous said...
Looking through my congressman's letters to read box I have found at least 100 other emails on this issue. We might actually make a difference.
9:59 PM
Anonymous said...
Love the Music. Once again government has to get into peoples enjoyment of music. Can't you move your company Sky FM to a country that will welcome your music for the world to hear? Again thank you Sky fm for the coolest music on the WWW.
5:17 AM
Anonymous said...
This is one of the reasons why I am starting to dislike the Americans. They kill all the fun...
6:30 AM
Sean said...
Ari,
We are dealing with similar issues through our service. This is all such a headache.
I just sent you an email about the fact that we offer a service that might be able to help you recoup the lost $20,000 and then some.
Please drop me a line: labels [at] PlayItTonight.com
~Sean
PlayItTonight.com
1:57 PM
Ari said...
>Anonymous said... This is one of the reasons why I am starting to dislike the Americans. They kill all the fun...
In reply to that, you might as well stop listening then because this station is run by Americans and Europeans together.
It is important to keep your focus straight here and not to make generalizations. Similarly I find some posts blaming "capitalism" here or on Digg replies for this problem or all the evils of the world completely ridiculous. Remember, the problem here is that a legal body, part of the government (meaning NOT capitalist by definition), made this mess in the first place and made this mess now. Ideally things wouldn't be so regulated, because when someone wants governement regulation you can say goodbye to capitalism and hello to castrated capitalism. This is what is happening here, please be mindful of facts and let us all stick with the issue at hand please.
3:32 PM
Anonymous said...
I sincerely wish you luck in this struggle. I've been a listener for years now, a paying one for most of them. It'll be a sad day if you have to close up shop; leaving me without my favourite (and mostly only) radio channel I listen to.
4:31 PM
Anonymous said...
It will be a shame if we lose DI. But then they tried the same stuff with Napster and look what happened there. Nothings for free anymore. You can tell by the increase of ads that DI has had to run over the past year in order to pay for operations.
Time to move Ari. Either to Canada, or the EU. Set up a mirror site overseas, make it active, and then when and if (most likely when) the time comes, you just shut one down and continue with the other. Sure your hooked on NY, its your home, but trust me Canada is pretty nice too. You will probably like Toronto, or Calgary or Vancouver if you want to come out west.
By the looks of it, "free" internet radio is going the way of the dodo bird. Time for everyone to cough up if they want to hear the music.
On the good side, by being the "CEO" of such a business that already has an "addicted" audience, your paycheque can only get fatter.
I admire the struggle to keep internet radio free, but theres just too much money going around these days and everyone wants a piece.
All I ask is that you keep your rates low when the time comes, so I can afford this. Or else I will be forced to bounce from pirate radio to pirate radio.
Thanks Ari, its been a slice.
4:48 PM
Andrew said...
Just wrote my congresspersons. You should let people know about this by ads on the show.
5:53 PM
Anonymous said...
Do you really want to have just a few big corporations playing the music for you in the future?
This is a very vague statement if you ask me...
I dont want to burst your bubble Ari but your not the only online radio out there. There is plenty more reliable I could say better quality Radios then DI.FM
But the again this is my opinion, so please respect that. I hope it works out for you and di.
9:05 PM
stop the madness...
ok, looky here, another company having troubles with the riaa -- and a highly recognized and respected name at that -- is having fears of business loss over this runaway train also known as the riaa.
i get infuriated because i want to dj and produce edm til i die, or at least into my 60s/70s. i feel like i am being stripped bit by bit (no pun intended) of a livelihood that has grown to be my deepest passion. i have worked in many career/job fields. i came back to music, not only because its what i do best, but also because it is what i love. i want to live off of making music, entertaining and delighting listeners and dancers with my craft.
djs mix because they promote a sound, not because they claim music as their own work. why should a dj have to pay to promote what isnt theirs? a lot of djs also produce when they mix. theyre not getting paid to produce. most internet djs dont get paid at all, theyre playing to entertain and to promote their own skill and craft and selective talent. most internet edm djs are in a separate class than mainstream djs. the music is already underground in most cases. the riaa is shutting down something they have no right to shut down.
please do something about this. please use the links provided. please nurture the scene that fosters unconditional acceptance. please help...
Digitally Imported Blog
.. Begin #content --> .. Begin #main -->
Monday, March 12, 2007
.. Begin .post -->
New Music Royalty Rates May Shut Down Internet Radio
On Friday March 2nd, the U.S. government, through the Copyright Royalty Board (CRB), made a determination of the royalty rates Internet Radio webcasters must pay the owners of sound recording copyrights to license the music they webcast for the years 2006-2010. The license is paid to SoundExchange, a nonprofit organization that collects royalty payments from digital music broadcasters and distributes them to rights holders.
The issue is that the new rates completely ignore the business and market realities of Internet Radio. In a nutshell they expect many webcasters, such as at Digitally Imported, to pay far greater money for licensing than we ever even collect from all of our services, effectively driving webcasters out of business.
For commercial and for larger non-commercial webcasters the judges set a pay-per-play rate of:
* $.0008 per play for 2006
* $.0011 per play for 2007
* $.0014 per play for 2008
* $.0018 per play for 2009
* $.0019 per play for 2010
No need to adjust your glasses, you are seeing it correctly. Not only are the rates outrageous but they also continue to increase wildly every year. For example, by 2007 the rate jumps 37% from 2006!
SaveTheStreams.org has sample calculations here on what it means to stream to 10,000 concurrent listeners on average, if you are interested in the fine details. And keep in mind that Digitally Imported has far more listeners than in that example. We are talking about rates which are hundreds of % more than the revenues webcasters generate, even before any expenses for things such as wages, resources, hardware, and so on. How judges can come up with such numbers is beyond me. What we do know is that Digitally Imported was part of a collective of small commercial broadcasters which presented its arguments in court proceedings. Yet the judges completely threw virtually all of our arguments aside in making their decision.
What's ironic is that even if the Internet radio advertising market was fully mature, which it isn't, and we played as many audio ads for you as we could - then not only we'd be in for a prize for most ads played by any entity, as one other webcaster joked. But we still would be very far from reaching the required revenue numbers and being able to pay such rates. It's just completely unrealistic to expect any sort of a model to exist both now and in next years that would come close to being able to justify these rates. Maybe the big corporations of the world such as Yahoo and AOL could in theory afford to loose on such rates and still provide music, but that doesn't mean all other businesses have to go as a result. Do you really want to have just a few big corporations playing the music for you in the future?
You may ask us about why don't we just play unlicensed tracks or make an agreement with artists directly to avoid paying so much. The reality of the business is that it is virtually impossible to micromanage things this way. You'd have to have a world class communication company to be able to track down so many artists or labels, find where who is, who to contact, what forms to sign, talk them into it, etc. Plus you'd be surprised just how much of the non-mainstream music you love so much here is really signed to a label. That's why in theory the law that allows for a blanket license is really convenient - it's just that the rates which were set now are truly hopeless and stifle any kind of competition. What are we supposed to do, wave a flag and and turn into a payola service? Put a banner out that says "hey, whoever pays us the most in advance gets to have his or her track heard on the radio!"? Because that's the only model that is going to work with these rates.
This All Sounds Familiar, What Happened Last Time?
If this all sounds familiar it is because it is very similar to what happened the last time around 2002 and the Day of Silence campaign. Then too very bad rates were proposed for the period up until the end of 2005. Much hype was raised because then as now the industry was about to die. You wonderful listeners wrote in droves to your congressmen whether by submitting online forms, emails, letters, or phone calls, and they in turn heard your message. With the urging of Congressmen last time, SoundExchange and the small commercial webcasters such as Digitally Imported settled on a deal (SWSA) that allowed us to pay a percentage of revenue or expenses instead of per performance, with the rates ranging around 10-12%. Even though officially the rates set by the Copyright Royalty Board (CRB) last time were also bad, this negotiated deal allowed us to use another model and continue to exist. There was no such option allowed by the CRB this time, and the jury's still out on whether anything will be negotiated like it was last time.
WHAT YOU CAN DO TO HELP, AND IT TAKES 2 MINUTES
After careful consideration we feel that the most efficient course of action would be to send a note to your own Congresspeople complaining about the issue, stating that it is important to you and that you want them to help solve it.
To do so we are providing an easy link for you, there's even prepared text for you to Copy and Paste. Please go to this link at Congress.org, check the text there and copy it, and by just inputting your zip code you can digitally send in the letter to your congresspeople. This really helps!
Of course the more you spread this message among friends and the media, the more attention it grabs and the more pressure there is on everyone to overturn or settle the matter before it is too late.
Also see the new post about Other Ways To Help and Donate, which has been added since after numerous requests.
On behalf of Team Digitally Imported, and all our other fellow webcasters, we thank you for your support once again. It was a miracle that last time around we were able to do something through these actions, there's no reason why it cannot work again. Thank you for your few minutes of time to help in this matter.
Sincerely,
Ari Shohat
Founder & Manager
Digitally Imported, Inc.
http://www.di.fm/ http://www.sky.fm/
..>digg_url='http://digg.com/tech_news/New_Streaming_Royalty_Rates_also_threaten_Digitally_Imported_Radio';..>
.. src="http://digg.com/api/diggthis.js">..>
posted by Ari at 5:39 PM
.. End .post -->.. Begin #comments -->
98 Comments:
Anonymous said...
This is rather scary news as DI.fm is amazing. Is there anything that your users can do if they do not live in the US?
Thanks Chris
P.S. You should put more information about this on your main page,
1:31 PM
Anonymous said...
Oh my god, that is terrible. :o
I second the "put it on the main page". Make it bold and red.
I stumbled upon this by accident. :(
4:40 PM
Anonymous said...
What if you only play non-licensed music?
2:40 PM
Miljan said...
I became a paid member moments ago and the first thing I accidentally found on the site was the following piece of information: "New Music Royalty Rates Are About To Shut Down Internet Radio... Stay tuned here as I explain in next few days how this is going to kill us soon unless..."
: )
Looking forward to hearing more on this one.
2:19 PM
Anonymous said...
My understanding, is that it has nothing to do with any form of licensing. All music played will incur a charge to be paid to SoundExchange, and its up to the artist to collect the royalties from SoundExchange. In theory this ruling does apply to non-US based listeners, so DI could continue to broadcast to anyone outside the US. Quite ironic.
2:56 PM
Anonymous said...
Thats neat, but for those of us in fact in the US this would be horrible! I've put up bulletins on myspace to try and get the word out as well as forums. Hopefully this can be stopped eh?
10:02 PM
Anonymous said...
The true reality is I listen to your di.fm because of your 'content'. Personally I think if you could get the artists to pay for your radio. Di.fm are much better equipped and culturally to present it the right way, as I have discovered it.
ps. good luck with the fight.
10:47 PM
Anonymous said...
Anyways...you don't even profit from it...other than advertise the artists, correctly....not destroy it...i guess in the case of underground music vs commercial...just like in the real world...get the hint...sometimes to provide quality...keep doing what you guys do best...because it definitely promotes the artists much much better...rather than some commercial avenues...keep the fight...
10:58 PM
Anonymous said...
Time to move the servers to Europe heh. This is really rediculous.
11:04 PM
Michael O'Hara said...
I think the royality increases for Internet Radio is nothing short of egregious and downright greedy. I sincerely hope that my representatives will be able to vote against this bill or I'll just have to vote them out :)
12:06 AM
Anonymous said...
Don't worry. All you have to do is set up your servers and credit card processing thru offshore destinations that are non complaint to US laws and court orders.
12:31 AM
David said...
How hypocritical it is of any governmental body or corporation to do anything to destroy any form of e-commerce. The Internet is still too new and needs to be given time to grow. Between this new development and the extent the government has gone to stifle Internet gaming, I am appalled.
1:42 AM
Anonymous said...
I wonder that you mustn't pay for playing bevor now! In Germany we pay since Internetradio is possible! Good Luck!
2:05 AM
Anonymous said...
You should start thinking about moving servers and headquarters to Europe. USA is becoming more and more pro-corporate.
Good luck!
5:02 AM
Kyle said...
You know all this does? It works aggressively to push down market competition, force companies overseas or underground - it is anticompetetive in the greatest sense.
Where on earth do these judges get their arguments from? Their rulings? This is totally absurd and is the polar opposite - the antithesis - of logic.
5:09 AM
Anonymous said...
Sounds like USA are getting as shitty as France in terms of music rights management.
7:09 AM
Anonymous said...
Sounds like they are just squeezing the properly run sites like DI and encouraging the crooked underground ones that will never pay anything! It defies belief that they think this is going to work. At the moment they are getting a healthy chunk from the internet, but soon they will get nothing because they will shut down all the stations. goose and golden egg spring to mind! -Dogfax
8:07 AM
L2 said...
Well, that's the music industry for ya. They just want the money, that's it.
9:47 AM
Yogiyosh said...
This is just another example of how greedy the music industry is, the copyright associations in the U.S and U.K mainly want to squeeze every last drop of cash out of radio stations and anybody else.
They use varying arguments that unlicensed airplay is effecting the artists, they allegedly represent. In fact the artists are well looked after.
It makes me sick to think that corporate greed will ruin internet radio stations, such as DI...which in mine and many others opinions is a truely fantastic service.
A final word; what happens when all the radio stations have been squeezed out of business due to crippling charges being levvied, I'm sure the copyright associations would have something to complain about when virtually no income was being raised?
10:36 AM
Anonymous said...
Dieter Lanckman Belgium
What can we do in Europe?
A lot of people love di
Grtz
11:14 AM
Anonymous said...
Totally sucks ... all music I listen to anymore is online. In fact it's not even available elsewhere. The actual radio stations in my area don't even come close.
Yep, time to move the servers
11:14 AM
jason said...
Well I don't know what I can do as I am from UK.
At the end of the day the artists will lose out on thousands in royalty if you go out of business and I don't think they're about to let that happen so I wouldn't worry about it. They'll accept whatever royalty you offer so just continue to do what you're doing.
Regards, JayUK.
12:01 PM
Anonymous said...
This post has been removed by a blog administrator.
12:17 PM
Anonymous said...
Sigh.. *shakes fist*
12:17 PM
Anonymous said...
has anyone checked to see who the executives and backers of Soundexchange are? Are they simply a front for the major labels? Might this be a anti-trust suit waiting to happen?
12:20 PM
Anonymous said...
Can non-US citizens send lease to the congress to stop this blasphemy? If all goes down the shitter, you're always welcome to relocate to Canada where we have no laws! :D
Best of luck to everyone.
12:35 PM
Anonymous said...
Thats really awful !!!
For me this is a try to reduce the variety of the internet. Less channels, less music, only playing the mainstream-shit.
1:12 PM
Anonymous said...
this so sucks! i hope di.fm doesnt close down :( i was just about to subscribe for year, and im getting broadband in weeks time just for di!!! dont take it away, how can overseas people help?
lets all hope and pray :)
1:57 PM
Anonymous said...
i too thought relocating the servers/biz elsewhere. i'm wondering if this is a real possiblity? the jack-booted music industry may prosecute americans doing this?
2:26 PM
GABE said...
So if we did have to subscribe, how much would it be?
This SUCKS
DI.fm is one of the best things on the internet.
2:29 PM
Andy said...
We are such a weatly country and still "We don't make enough money to support ourself, so we had to go and inforce these royalties". This is sad news. Instead of doing something about wars that affect our economy we're killing small business. DI.Fm is excellent radio station, with superb playlist. I would really hate to see it go..
2:38 PM
jukommerce said...
In countries with a high tax-rate there is a lot of offshore-banking;
Even in countries where is no democracy there is an opposition;
I think quality will always survive... so we'll keep DI.FM!!!!
But for the USA this is very bad news. Your country will loose marketshare, will loose tax-income and such bad decisions have serious impact on your country's reputation.
2:49 PM
Anonymous said...
I find it irresponsible that congress would even consider such a thing. How much of that money collected actually gets to an artist and how much goes to the bureaucracy of administering it and the salaries of the board of directors of this so called non profit organization?? Working with many artists myself I know the amount collected in Royalties from these third parties are so nominal if at all - that Touring is the only way the artist makes a living. The more listeners the more likely they will have more sold out shows and merch sales.
2:56 PM
Anonymous said...
Pavel Gruev, Bulgaria
A classical case of cutting down the hen that lays golden eggs, just to get a couple of eggs this very moment.
The artists will lose most in the long run, but obviously this is of no concern to the major labels.
I really appreciate listening to your radio and sincerely hope that this stupid law will be changed.
All the best!
3:29 PM
Anonymous said...
really bad news, but aren't laws different in other countries, that di.fm would kind of move their services to another country...
not sure if this could be accomplished easy but its really bad to hear that.
3:37 PM
Rick Dawson said...
Is there anything non US people can do?
I will be putting a post on my blog shortly about this, and linking to here.
4:08 PM
Anonymous said...
I advise you send an e-mail to the folks at the RIAA and SoundExchange and tell them how many music purchases you have made in the last year because of something you heard on Internet radio.
Here is an example; the e-mail I wrote to John Simson, Executive Director of SoundExchange:
Quote:
Mr. Simson,
As an avid listener of Internet radio, I can attest to the marked increase in the amount of music purchases I have made in the last year since I became a DI.fm and RadioParadise.com listener.
I have my favorite terrestrial radio stations I listen to, as well (KINK 102 FM, Portland Oregon), but they do not completely satisfy my eclectic taste in music. As a result of my terrestrial radio listening, I have purchased three CD's in the last 12 months. As a result of my Internet radio listening, I have purchased 5 CD's and well over 150 songs from iTunes and Beatport in the last 12 months.
Internet radio reaches an audience that conventional radio formats never will. The CRB's rate hike will erect huge barriers Internet radio industry, making it an unprofitable venture and limiting choices for consumers. If you price your customers out of the market, then where is your revenue going to come from? And, if I don't get to hear music I like, I won't be buying it!
I stronly urge the RIAA and SoundExchange to reconsider their stance on this issue.
4:40 PM
Anonymous said...
I'm ashamed to be a citizen of this "free" country...
9:20 PM
Anonymous said...
For all listeners who don't live in the US I just have one warning: If the digital rights laws do not effect you directly today, they will once the record companies have assumed total control in the US. They follow the motto: "Today the US, tomorrow the world" At the moment they need the support of the US legislators. Once they have everything they want from them, they will probably move their HQ to Dubai or some other contry where they don't have to pay taxes.
And the US citizens like sheep will accept this just like they accept billions of taxpayers $ being paid to Haliburton who then moves their HQ to Dubai to avoid paying taxes.
I guess if big corporations treat US taxpayers like suckers, these citizens will behave like suckers.
Sorry for rambling ... I am mad.
9:53 PM
Anonymous said...
eh loko soy de argentina y es un bajon eso que lei ...ojala sigan como siempre asi salto de loko en mi habitacion
9:54 PM
Anonymous said...
This radio station better not close down else I will be pissed!!!
10:10 PM
Anonymous said...
This radio station better not close down else I will be pissed!!!
10:10 PM
Anonymous said...
This is stright more bs from the us gov. They just want to suck everyone dry, so they can keep all of what they get, ITS NOT LIKE PEOPLE WHO MAKE MUSIC DONT SELL IT, PEOPLE LISTEN TO IT ON DI.FM and THEN GO BUY IT! YOU ARE SUPPORTING THEM! AND THEY WANT MORE LIKE THE BLOODHOUNDS THEY ARE.
12:05 AM
Lady Rumplestiltskin said...
Do you really want to have just a few big corporations playing the music for you in the future?
Hell no! They don't even play some of the cool songs you guys have for each DIFM channel -- instead, we'll be gettin' Brittany Spears 24/7! My hearing is going NUMB just thinking about it!
Damn straight I'm sendin' a letter of concern to my congressmen and do anything to help keep Digitally Imported alive -- even for the hard rock junkies XD
12:33 AM
Anonymous said...
Sorry, this was the largest Bullshit i ever hear. Which one of all Electronic-Musicans becomes really the Money you must spend??
I think it will be under 1%.
The most people who produce some Sounds do it because them want a better World with more freedom.
The problem is the commercial RnB and HipHop- Scene, them kill the feelings and the Power from the real Music.
I was DJ since a long Time, and i can tell you that it gives millions of people who makes some Sound with the Computer. And here is the Problem; who Contact all of its and bring them the Money??
No one.
Dont spend something, it flows in the wrong direction. It flows in the capitalistic Scene who pray for War and Destruction...
We want a better World? Why we dont do?
Lovely greetings from Chris/Switzerland
4:13 AM
Anonymous said...
I'm so sorry and so sad when hearing this seriously bad news :(!
I'm currently living outside of the US and don't know how to help out you guys at Sky.fm/di.fm with at least a complaining letter to Congresspeople. Nevertheless, I've been actually a foreign audience of your Internet radio station for a pretty long time ago, since the day I incidental found out your station streaming address in my iTunes. I have to say that you guys are really cool and I appreciate your earnest endeavors to actively produce and give out such quality webcasted channels. I wish I could partly contribute something to oppose against this new music royalty rates but everything appears that outside US people is hard to exert their influence to your local government.
Best wishes to you all.
Another lovely greeting from Nguyen/Vietnam.
10:51 AM
Anonymous said...
What horrible news!
Move the office to Canada (then I have a hope of working for you too! ^_~)
Seriously, the artists make money from hard work, like concerts and shows. Its the recording studios who make all the money from the broadcasts.
If we don't keep the small and independent guys running, the world 's only choice will be Britney or Christina! We won't get to pick anything but mainstream!
I love listening to DI.fm, ever since I stumbled upon it a few months ago.
I even listen to it while playing Warcraft.
You guys are great, keep up the good work.
Let us know how us foreigners can help too!
2:53 PM
Anonymous said...
I wrote the letter, I reposted this on my blog and will be sure to put a sign up about it on Inspire Beach in second life ! We stream DI.fm chillout there 90% of the time!
Everyone loves it and I'm sure brings you new listeners everyday.
5:55 PM
Anonymous said...
corporations want to control everything!!
6:49 PM
Anonymous said...
This is horrible! I am nearly addicted to DI.FM for 2 years now, the only station without bla bla..
How can I react and make a statement? I live in Holland, Europe. I want to help.
7:42 PM
Anonymous said...
Is their something we can workout with the royalty rates. Don't get rid of the radio station. Im sure we can work something out. Let the music keep playing.
8:04 PM
Anonymous said...
DI.fm please keep fighting for us listeners we got your back. We want to help to!
8:10 PM
Anonymous said...
We pay for our membership we pay to download songs. What is the BIG problem. Everything is one hundread percent legal. Government go attack some other corporation scaming people out of money.
8:24 PM
Anonymous said...
We pay for our membership we pay to download songs. What is the BIG problem. Everything is one hundread percent legal. Government go attack some other corporation scaming people out of money.
8:24 PM
kandiravah said...
Well....looks like the government's at it again....I don't object to the artists and record companies getting what's due them....but it certainly looks like the government's out to kill off anything that's not a big corporate outlet...like Clear Channel..which owns ALL the major stations in my town....and plays absolutely nothing worth listening to. Not to mention that this would also limit exposure to anything other than what the corporate goons play...maybe it is time to move the servers to a more friendly place...
9:14 PM
Anonymous said...
If it comes down to it, I'd be happy to pay $15/mo for digitally imported. Sure beats anything the sat radio offers for the same price.
I'm not condoning what they are doing, as there doesn't seem to be any room for negotiation. And business is all about negotiation. This is just another attempt from the record companies to stifle innovation, even though they are still making money off it. I really wish the government would stay out of the business world. They can't even balance their own budget, but they'll screw up the market without even batting an eyelash.
10:27 PM
Anonymous said...
I think it is a bunch of nonsense. This has to be about the big corps wanting to step on the samll guys. Think about it, Digitally Imported is far better that any Clear Channle FM statioin I know of an they know it. So what do they do, get a judge who wants to get paid to try to shut the net radio down. A bunch of BS. I host a one man online mix show broadcast and I do not want these guys coming after me for this crap.
Did they think about how mush it already cost to host a live stream with a large number of cuncurrent listeners? WOW. I am just pissed. Pissed. Here I am trying to get a small business off the ground broadcasting and these alreay rich guys tell me I have to pay so much that I could never make it happen. Man, I am trying not to curse but I want to just say these guys are dumb mutha*&^%@s'. Let us get our and help the music scene.
1:56 AM
Anonymous said...
THEY ARE INSANE
No other better explanation.
Mp3 and radio streams stimpulate Sales for events and and artists will definetly gain more from such streams.
Abolishing them is a blasphame against helping emerging artists !
7:01 AM
John said...
Blogged it. johndball.com
8:24 AM
Anonymous said...
This is bad. Once again the music suffers and so to, do the people who listen to it. Record companies should be happy at their music being promoted, people listen, like the track/album and go and buy it. I think the artists who make it should complain also as their music is not getting the best widespread audience available. First DRM now this when will it stop!!!!!! The industry Execs are too greedy!!!
Thanks to all at DI.fm for a great choice in music and a great service.
9:56 AM
Anonymous said...
U.S. government realy disappointed me , first they banned betting and now they try to destroy all online radios !! what a pity.
Could Di.fm move offshore so can do business totally free of any charges??
Cheers.
Abtin
12:57 PM
Anonymous said...
I wrote my congressman...but frankly...why should the ARTISTS not be paid. Free radio! Sign me up! What about more commercials? (Yep...sucks...but it would pay the bills.) What about 1 month free then EVERYONE subscribes...or has to.
There is no free ride.
4:57 PM
Anonymous said...
This is not good, Im from the uk, and DI is the only station I listen to, no one else plays such a wide range of good soul grabbing music as you do.
There must be some thing we can do over here in the uk and other countries to help you guys out?
No DI, would be devastating, keep up the excellent work and carry on playing them great tunes.
Cheers guys, Luke.
5:13 PM
sprawk said...
I just sent an e-mail to both my senators (Jon Kyle & John McCain) and my Congressman (Raúl M. Grijalva) with an edited version of the original plea e-mail:
As your constituent and a fan of Internet radio, I was alarmed to learn
that music royalty rates were recently determined by the Copyright Royalty
Board (CRB) which, if enacted, would certainly silence most or all of my
favorite online listening services. For most webcasters, this royalty rate
represents more than 100% of their total revenues!
The shuttering of the webcasting industry would be a loss for not only
independent business owners, but also for musical artists, for copyright
owners, and for listeners like me who enjoy the wide variety of choices
available via Internet radio. Internet radio stations currently provide a
legal way for listeners like myself to discover new music. Often times on
the sites discussion boards you can speak with the artist, get to know
them, and I feel that this detracts from piracy. I am currently paying for
a premium subscription to an internet radio station (http://di.fm) and
feel it would be an absolute travesty to see good sites like this go down
due to a lack of light being shed on this situation.
I respectfully request that your office look into this matter and initiate
action to prevent it. As the CRB rate decision is retroactive to January
1, 2006, please understand that time is of the essence -- as the immediate
impact of this decision could silence many Internet radio stations
forever.
Sincerely,
Timothy T.
(555)555-5555
Are you a registered voter?: Yes
Did you vote in the last election?: No
Age: 19
Gender: Male
Would you like a reply?: Yes
So I hope that helps. Digg.com is big on this too.
5:13 PM
Razare said...
Wrote my congress person about this, but I don't expect it to turn out well.
It comes down to which force is greater...
Corporate $$$ or Internet Radio Listeners
Sadly, the first is much more powerful and will be for as far as anyone can tell. Decent internet radio will probably die off now.
10:39 PM
Anonymous said...
This is sad. I love this radio station!!. I really hope that you will be running for a long time. I am not american, other wise i would have wrote to my congresspeople. My heart and mind are with you in your fight.
12:01 AM
jayson knight said...
Manual trackback here: http://jaysonknight.com/blog/archive/2007/03/16/save-internet-radio.aspx
12:10 AM
Anonymous said...
SRY DI... You,ve been wonderful...
tony
1:37 PM
Vitesse said...
why do you simply broadcast from canada and play only international music. If american company doesn't have anywere to be listen maybe they change their mind? Canadian and european artiste make realy good music and not only in the electronic domain like di.fm
9:00 PM
Anonymous said...
this is horrible, i think you should make a small add about this in between tracks so more people learn about this and can help.
I hope we can fight this.
2:52 AM
Anonymous said...
from Bake_Seaweed
why don't we just play unlicensed tracks
CHEER and PEACE
6:07 AM
Anonymous said...
from Bake_Seaweed
why don't we just play unlicensed tracks... there is too many KILL OUT dj's out in this WORLD
CHEER AND PEACE
6:10 AM
Danmark said...
Similar processes are not only limited to DI.fm : sign of the times ?
Anyhow, I have messaged USA buddies to encourage them to http://www.congress.org/congressorg/issues/alert/?alertid=9461656&content_dir=ua_congressorg&mailid=custom
I didn't subscribe to DI.fm Premium to see my beloved Internet Radio station disappear !
7:20 AM
Anonymous said...
Its like you open a shop and sell bread for 5 cents, then you start to sell it at 5 dollers... guess what no one buys your bread. It dont figure..
Internet radio stations shut down... they then get no money... eh. So what is the point???
9:02 AM
Anonymous said...
I don't believe in much anymore but one thing I do is internet radio. Just another pathetic move by the music industry. I spit in their faces. Another insult that affects so many people just to make a few richer. I say off with their heads.
5:52 PM
Anonymous said...
Sounds like it's time to "sell" digitally imported to it's future parent company/shell: Digitally Imported Cayman Islands, Inc.
5:58 PM
Anonymous said...
MOVE YOUR SERVERS TO CANADA. WE LOVE DI HERE. I HAVE HOSTED PARTIES STREAMING DI! WE ARE ALL HERE TO HELP.
10:45 PM
Anonymous said...
wow!!! just another way to put people down!! cant they not just leave us HAPPY PEOPLE alone?!!!
hope it gets to b solved soon...
DI is my fav radio channel, i have played 3 different sets here and will play loads more soon, would do anything to help!!
dj deeb
3:59 AM
Anonymous said...
DI is great! I have been listening to you for over three years. I hope nothing ruins my experience with DI. By far you are the #1 broadcast station on the WWW.
12:41 PM
Anonymous said...
Land of the free HMMM
3:32 PM
BoneZ said...
DI is the greatest internet radio on the web and the only one i listen to. Anything we can do DI, you let us know. I for one am not letting DI go that easily.
4:03 PM
Anonymous said...
I know that by looking at the rates quickly, the might SEEM very high. But think about this...
Premium users pay $6.95 per month to listen to DI.FM. Using the rates outlined for 2007 (.0011 per song), and assuming that you listen to an average of 10 hours of music per week, it would cost DI.FM 75 cents ($0.75) to pay for my music royalties - leaving them with $6.20.
This might be an issue for free listening, but it certainly will not be an issue for people even a small fee to listen to music.
4:32 PM
Anonymous said...
this is bullshit!
I live in a small country town and we have almost no radio here other than local government radio.
How am i ever going to hear psychedelic music if the shut internet radio?
This just sucks
11:00 PM
Ari said...
To the person few comments above doing the calculations for Premium service: these rates apply mostly to non-subscription services, considering about 98% of our audience doesn't pay to listen this arguement is pointless as it doesn't apply to a real life scenerio.
11:51 AM
harri the greek said...
dont even think of shuting D.I down
find a way to keep us alive. we need you. no D.I no reason to live.make everybody subscribe.they dont know what they re missing.
unbelivable station and musik
I LOVE YOU.
1:48 PM
Jeff said...
This would be an insane tragedy ... di has helped me get where I am with production, and because of it, im signed. I would HATE for such a great resource and community to be shut down because people dont digg free promotion.
3:11 PM
Anonymous said...
Sigh, they're stupid aren't they eh?
What a shame that non US people can't do anything about it.
Or can they? How?
You should make the link on the main page much bigger, to be honest.
7:43 PM
Anonymous said...
Ari, this is of course the issue, these rates are not worked out on a ‘real life’ scenario.
It sounds very much to me like the person above is suggesting that this rate has been developed, to try and get money for the record industry from Internet radio listeners... now that is a surprise... not.
8:02 PM
david said...
Anyone read the press release from Soundexchange, the body who controls payments - read this section -
We believe internet radio broadcasters are our partners
and it is our strong desire to see a thriving online radio marketplace. However,
such a marketplace cannot be sustained without music, and the decision of the
CRB fully recognizes and reflects this fact.
Thriving on line... more like no more on line. And look at that, Internet radio needs music.. eh yep and it looks like you have it all Soundexchange!
8:22 PM
Anonymous said...
Looking through my congressman's letters to read box I have found at least 100 other emails on this issue. We might actually make a difference.
9:59 PM
Anonymous said...
Love the Music. Once again government has to get into peoples enjoyment of music. Can't you move your company Sky FM to a country that will welcome your music for the world to hear? Again thank you Sky fm for the coolest music on the WWW.
5:17 AM
Anonymous said...
This is one of the reasons why I am starting to dislike the Americans. They kill all the fun...
6:30 AM
Sean said...
Ari,
We are dealing with similar issues through our service. This is all such a headache.
I just sent you an email about the fact that we offer a service that might be able to help you recoup the lost $20,000 and then some.
Please drop me a line: labels [at] PlayItTonight.com
~Sean
PlayItTonight.com
1:57 PM
Ari said...
>Anonymous said... This is one of the reasons why I am starting to dislike the Americans. They kill all the fun...
In reply to that, you might as well stop listening then because this station is run by Americans and Europeans together.
It is important to keep your focus straight here and not to make generalizations. Similarly I find some posts blaming "capitalism" here or on Digg replies for this problem or all the evils of the world completely ridiculous. Remember, the problem here is that a legal body, part of the government (meaning NOT capitalist by definition), made this mess in the first place and made this mess now. Ideally things wouldn't be so regulated, because when someone wants governement regulation you can say goodbye to capitalism and hello to castrated capitalism. This is what is happening here, please be mindful of facts and let us all stick with the issue at hand please.
3:32 PM
Anonymous said...
I sincerely wish you luck in this struggle. I've been a listener for years now, a paying one for most of them. It'll be a sad day if you have to close up shop; leaving me without my favourite (and mostly only) radio channel I listen to.
4:31 PM
Anonymous said...
It will be a shame if we lose DI. But then they tried the same stuff with Napster and look what happened there. Nothings for free anymore. You can tell by the increase of ads that DI has had to run over the past year in order to pay for operations.
Time to move Ari. Either to Canada, or the EU. Set up a mirror site overseas, make it active, and then when and if (most likely when) the time comes, you just shut one down and continue with the other. Sure your hooked on NY, its your home, but trust me Canada is pretty nice too. You will probably like Toronto, or Calgary or Vancouver if you want to come out west.
By the looks of it, "free" internet radio is going the way of the dodo bird. Time for everyone to cough up if they want to hear the music.
On the good side, by being the "CEO" of such a business that already has an "addicted" audience, your paycheque can only get fatter.
I admire the struggle to keep internet radio free, but theres just too much money going around these days and everyone wants a piece.
All I ask is that you keep your rates low when the time comes, so I can afford this. Or else I will be forced to bounce from pirate radio to pirate radio.
Thanks Ari, its been a slice.
4:48 PM
Andrew said...
Just wrote my congresspersons. You should let people know about this by ads on the show.
5:53 PM
Anonymous said...
Do you really want to have just a few big corporations playing the music for you in the future?
This is a very vague statement if you ask me...
I dont want to burst your bubble Ari but your not the only online radio out there. There is plenty more reliable I could say better quality Radios then DI.FM
But the again this is my opinion, so please respect that. I hope it works out for you and di.
9:05 PM
back-words... the power of the dark side...
Wednesday, March 7, 2007
the power of the dark side...
this sort of thing is exactly why i get on my soap box about the riaa.
theyre out of control and they need to be stopped. extreme tactics of limitation always piss me off and this is no exception, by far. at some point, other ppl will get tired of the riaa as well. it cant happen too soon as far as im concerned.
maybe one day music lovers will rise against the riaa. maybe thats a dream. maybe my give-a-damn protests will inspire others to take action as i do. maybe ppl will grizzle and agree or maybe theyll just tell me to shut up. i know im not the only one to feel this way. im sure im not in a minority about feeling this way, either. no matter how i look at it- as a consumer, as a dj, as a producer- i feel in my heart the riaa is out of line, corrupt with an over-justified sense of power. they may have had a reasonable point back in the 50s but they abandoned that stance decades ago and have only grown progressively worse. its time something be done about it before its too late...
March 06, 2007
RIAA's new royalty rates will kill online radio!!
The Copyright Royalty Board (CRB) has recently released a revised fee schedule for internet radio. Left unchanged, these rates will end internet radio, period. The RIAA has effectively convinced this federal committee to establish rates that make online radio a non-viable business.
It's an utterly ridiculous ruling that renders any form of internet radio non-economic. We are continuing in the belief that sanity will return as everyone involved, including the 50 million avid online radio listeners, realize just how outrageous this is.
You can probably tell by this post that I feel strongly about this. Online radio has opened up a new world for musicians and listeners alike. It has brought millions of otherwise disconnected music-lovers back to music radio, and has opened up tremendous access and promotion for thousands of musicians - both obscure and well known.
We are striving very hard to build a business. We employ eleven full time people in our ad sales team, and despite very high licensing and streaming costs, believed that we could make it work over the next several years if internet advertising continues to grow. This ruling drives the licensing fees (fees that are NOT paid by terrestrial broadcasters) completely out of reach, and makes our goal impossible.
This is a terribly ill-conceived attempt to crush a powerful and positive grassroots movement that is sweeping across the music world. The record labels' struggles have nothing to do with online radio and killing it will further hurt their business, not help it.
We need your help. If you'd like to get involved please write your congressperson. Below is a link to point you to the right person. If you can, please send a letter or a fax that asks for a reply (emails are too easily ignored).
Congressional Directory by Zip Code
If you want to learn more details, try this informative blog post from an attorney familiar with the process:
Now more than ever, thanks for your support.
Tim (Founder)
Posted by Tim Westergren at March 6, 2007 12:49 AM
Comments
Has anyone come up with a letter that someone could use as a template for this issue?
I'm finding it difficult to succinctly articulate the issue in a letter to my rep's in Congress.
Posted by: Matt at March 6, 2007 08:06 AM
Move to Europe. The RIAA can't bankrupt you there. Make friends with Last.fm while you're over there.
Posted by: Mr. Gunn at March 6, 2007 10:04 AM
There's a letter template over at: http://www.savenetradio.org/ (under the first bullet).
Is Pandora affected by this??? Acording to the cited blog -- the new rules don't apply to "interactive" webcasters.
Posted by: Peter B at March 6, 2007 12:18 PM
This letter looks like a good example: http://www.congress.org/congressorg/bio/userletter/?letter_id=1088793686
Posted by: Chris at March 6, 2007 12:24 PM
It's a good idea to send RIAA a couple of links to some good internet radios (including this one!) and show this actually helps the music business. Big time.
Posted by: D W at March 6, 2007 02:38 PM
Is it possible to get EFF involved? With their help, the message may get louder and stronger.
Posted by: David Kleiner at March 6, 2007 02:47 PM
This really ruined my day. Surely there is a way around this, such as moving your operation overseas.
Posted by: David McBride at March 6, 2007 03:26 PM
Thanks for the comments, folks. Re. Peter B.'s post, these affect ALL webcasters with an ad-supported service. They definitely affect us. Tim (Founder)
Posted by: Tim Westergren at March 6, 2007 05:54 PM
If they weren't so blind, they'd actually realize that internet radio promoted artists. But I guess, all they see is green - such that they just overlook it all.
Posted by: Alex at March 6, 2007 08:46 PM
http://www.petitiononline.com/SIR2007r/petition.html
http://www.congress.org/congressorg/issues/alert/?alertid=9461656&content_dir=ua_congressorg&mailid=custom
Posted by: Alex at March 6, 2007 08:48 PM
Amazing... I was stunned to hear about this the other day. It reminds me of the 'pauper jails' where they would arrest people who couldn't pay taxes thinking that would increase revenue.
Crazy
Posted by: John at March 6, 2007 10:23 PM
Here is an online petition that you can sign. Please sign up if you agree at:
http://www.petitiononline.com/SIR2007r/
It states:
As a fan of Internet radio, I was alarmed to learn that music royalty rates were recently determined by the Copyright Royalty Board (CRB) which, if enacted, would certainly silence most or all of my favorite online listening services. For most webcasters, this royalty rate represents more than 100% of their total revenues!
The shuttering of the webcasting industry would be a loss for not only independent business owners, but also for musical artists, for copyright owners, and for listeners like me who enjoy the wide variety of choices available via Internet radio.
I respectfully request that Congress look into this matter and initiate action to prevent it. As the CRB rate decision is retroactive to January 1, 2006, please understand that time is of the essence -- as the immediate impact of this decision could silence many free Internet radio stations forever.
Posted by: m at March 7, 2007 02:20 AM
In any case, I wouldn't be too optimistic and assume that a reasonable decision on appeal will be forthcoming.
If I were running a webcast, I think it would be prudent to prepare a "poison pill" just in case. Forcing an entire industry into bankruptcy is something that has happened before and will happen again. (e.g. in transportation it was the ICC rulings and the Penn-Central merger) I have heard some people observe that suing under fair-trade practices via NAFTA may be feasible (if you move internationally), although I think this is a stretch.
In this case, being essentially considered a criminal (and yes, they do consider legitimate webcasters criminals-- it's only a matter of time before they come out and say it...) even though you have tried to play by the rules is wrong, but otherwise unremarkable.
What did you think would happen? With RIAA raids on businesses for mixtaping by their own member-artists, with the Pirate's Bay getting raided illegally in Sweden (outside US jurisdiction)-- what do you think would happen?
The Big Labels will stop at nothing, even if you try to appease them. I have never downloaded music illegally, but with the confusing rash of laws anyone may find themselves harrassed and baselessly sued, either individuals or companies.
Don't expect fair play, non-DRMed tracks, or ethics.
As a last resort, I would seriously consider dumping your company's music files into a data repository overseas. Be sure to make backups-- I'll see you on the other side.
Posted by: Joe at March 7, 2007 06:25 AM
Sucesso para vocês!!
Roberto from Brazil.
Posted by: Roberto da Paixão at March 7, 2007 06:44 AM
This will even affect those that aren't ad-supported. I run a small hobby radio station and this will surely shut down my station!
Posted by: Sam at March 7, 2007 09:47 AM
I read an article about this in today's Wall Street Journal (3.7.07), and quite frankly, am sickened. Pandora isn't my only Internet radio destination. For me there's also Radio Paradise, SOMA FM, and many others. And that's the point -- options, creativity, and diverse independent music! Please avail yourself of the options on these sites, particularly Radio Paradise, for signing the online petition and contacting your Congressional representative. It's ridiculous that on one hand Congress would consider banning the merger of Sirius and XM Radio due to concerns about limiting listener choice, and at the same time let these royalty rates pass. Pandora people, I haven't logged onto the home page yet, but am hoping you create a link (if you haven't done so already) to create attention to this situation.
Posted by: Steve D at March 7, 2007 10:21 AM
I will write my representatives.
Another suggestion: Any of you who have purchased music from the independent studios or artists you have found on Pandora (or elsewhere on the internet)should go to the contact links on their web sites,let them know where you found their music and ask them to weigh in against this - with both RIAA and the congress.
Obviously, RIAA is captive of the big producers, or they wouldn't be trying to kill off the only effective free advertising available for these independent labels.
Posted by: Tom Nield at March 7, 2007 12:01 PM
I'll let my reps know. But plan for the worst. What do you think of Aruba?
Posted by: CTD at March 7, 2007 01:28 PM
Why laws in another country have to affect me and everyone else otside???
Internet radio supports new artists making music market hard to control by transnational music labels.They think that in a near future they wont be able to manipulate music trends any more (maybe they alredy have loose control) .
Don't forget that they are loosing audience on his media due the lack of good options
I mean has anyone listened how bad music is in air wave radio9stations thse days
Posted by: Francisco at March 7, 2007 01:56 PM
Like Steve I really enjoy Pandora and other Internet radio stations like Radio Paradise. I'm including a link to the online petition I've already signed in case it can help. http://www.petitiononline.com/SIR2007r/petition.html
The world is run by those who GET INVOLVED, so do all you can to stand up and keep Internet radio alive!
Posted by: Heather at March 7, 2007 02:04 PM
© 2005-2007 Pandora Media, Inc., All Rights Reserved
Pandora and the Music Genome Project are registered trademarks of Pandora Media, Inc.
the power of the dark side...
this sort of thing is exactly why i get on my soap box about the riaa.
theyre out of control and they need to be stopped. extreme tactics of limitation always piss me off and this is no exception, by far. at some point, other ppl will get tired of the riaa as well. it cant happen too soon as far as im concerned.
maybe one day music lovers will rise against the riaa. maybe thats a dream. maybe my give-a-damn protests will inspire others to take action as i do. maybe ppl will grizzle and agree or maybe theyll just tell me to shut up. i know im not the only one to feel this way. im sure im not in a minority about feeling this way, either. no matter how i look at it- as a consumer, as a dj, as a producer- i feel in my heart the riaa is out of line, corrupt with an over-justified sense of power. they may have had a reasonable point back in the 50s but they abandoned that stance decades ago and have only grown progressively worse. its time something be done about it before its too late...
March 06, 2007
RIAA's new royalty rates will kill online radio!!
The Copyright Royalty Board (CRB) has recently released a revised fee schedule for internet radio. Left unchanged, these rates will end internet radio, period. The RIAA has effectively convinced this federal committee to establish rates that make online radio a non-viable business.
It's an utterly ridiculous ruling that renders any form of internet radio non-economic. We are continuing in the belief that sanity will return as everyone involved, including the 50 million avid online radio listeners, realize just how outrageous this is.
You can probably tell by this post that I feel strongly about this. Online radio has opened up a new world for musicians and listeners alike. It has brought millions of otherwise disconnected music-lovers back to music radio, and has opened up tremendous access and promotion for thousands of musicians - both obscure and well known.
We are striving very hard to build a business. We employ eleven full time people in our ad sales team, and despite very high licensing and streaming costs, believed that we could make it work over the next several years if internet advertising continues to grow. This ruling drives the licensing fees (fees that are NOT paid by terrestrial broadcasters) completely out of reach, and makes our goal impossible.
This is a terribly ill-conceived attempt to crush a powerful and positive grassroots movement that is sweeping across the music world. The record labels' struggles have nothing to do with online radio and killing it will further hurt their business, not help it.
We need your help. If you'd like to get involved please write your congressperson. Below is a link to point you to the right person. If you can, please send a letter or a fax that asks for a reply (emails are too easily ignored).
Congressional Directory by Zip Code
If you want to learn more details, try this informative blog post from an attorney familiar with the process:
Now more than ever, thanks for your support.
Tim (Founder)
Posted by Tim Westergren at March 6, 2007 12:49 AM
Comments
Has anyone come up with a letter that someone could use as a template for this issue?
I'm finding it difficult to succinctly articulate the issue in a letter to my rep's in Congress.
Posted by: Matt at March 6, 2007 08:06 AM
Move to Europe. The RIAA can't bankrupt you there. Make friends with Last.fm while you're over there.
Posted by: Mr. Gunn at March 6, 2007 10:04 AM
There's a letter template over at: http://www.savenetradio.org/ (under the first bullet).
Is Pandora affected by this??? Acording to the cited blog -- the new rules don't apply to "interactive" webcasters.
Posted by: Peter B at March 6, 2007 12:18 PM
This letter looks like a good example: http://www.congress.org/congressorg/bio/userletter/?letter_id=1088793686
Posted by: Chris at March 6, 2007 12:24 PM
It's a good idea to send RIAA a couple of links to some good internet radios (including this one!) and show this actually helps the music business. Big time.
Posted by: D W at March 6, 2007 02:38 PM
Is it possible to get EFF involved? With their help, the message may get louder and stronger.
Posted by: David Kleiner at March 6, 2007 02:47 PM
This really ruined my day. Surely there is a way around this, such as moving your operation overseas.
Posted by: David McBride at March 6, 2007 03:26 PM
Thanks for the comments, folks. Re. Peter B.'s post, these affect ALL webcasters with an ad-supported service. They definitely affect us. Tim (Founder)
Posted by: Tim Westergren at March 6, 2007 05:54 PM
If they weren't so blind, they'd actually realize that internet radio promoted artists. But I guess, all they see is green - such that they just overlook it all.
Posted by: Alex at March 6, 2007 08:46 PM
http://www.petitiononline.com/SIR2007r/petition.html
http://www.congress.org/congressorg/issues/alert/?alertid=9461656&content_dir=ua_congressorg&mailid=custom
Posted by: Alex at March 6, 2007 08:48 PM
Amazing... I was stunned to hear about this the other day. It reminds me of the 'pauper jails' where they would arrest people who couldn't pay taxes thinking that would increase revenue.
Crazy
Posted by: John at March 6, 2007 10:23 PM
Here is an online petition that you can sign. Please sign up if you agree at:
http://www.petitiononline.com/SIR2007r/
It states:
As a fan of Internet radio, I was alarmed to learn that music royalty rates were recently determined by the Copyright Royalty Board (CRB) which, if enacted, would certainly silence most or all of my favorite online listening services. For most webcasters, this royalty rate represents more than 100% of their total revenues!
The shuttering of the webcasting industry would be a loss for not only independent business owners, but also for musical artists, for copyright owners, and for listeners like me who enjoy the wide variety of choices available via Internet radio.
I respectfully request that Congress look into this matter and initiate action to prevent it. As the CRB rate decision is retroactive to January 1, 2006, please understand that time is of the essence -- as the immediate impact of this decision could silence many free Internet radio stations forever.
Posted by: m at March 7, 2007 02:20 AM
In any case, I wouldn't be too optimistic and assume that a reasonable decision on appeal will be forthcoming.
If I were running a webcast, I think it would be prudent to prepare a "poison pill" just in case. Forcing an entire industry into bankruptcy is something that has happened before and will happen again. (e.g. in transportation it was the ICC rulings and the Penn-Central merger) I have heard some people observe that suing under fair-trade practices via NAFTA may be feasible (if you move internationally), although I think this is a stretch.
In this case, being essentially considered a criminal (and yes, they do consider legitimate webcasters criminals-- it's only a matter of time before they come out and say it...) even though you have tried to play by the rules is wrong, but otherwise unremarkable.
What did you think would happen? With RIAA raids on businesses for mixtaping by their own member-artists, with the Pirate's Bay getting raided illegally in Sweden (outside US jurisdiction)-- what do you think would happen?
The Big Labels will stop at nothing, even if you try to appease them. I have never downloaded music illegally, but with the confusing rash of laws anyone may find themselves harrassed and baselessly sued, either individuals or companies.
Don't expect fair play, non-DRMed tracks, or ethics.
As a last resort, I would seriously consider dumping your company's music files into a data repository overseas. Be sure to make backups-- I'll see you on the other side.
Posted by: Joe at March 7, 2007 06:25 AM
Sucesso para vocês!!
Roberto from Brazil.
Posted by: Roberto da Paixão at March 7, 2007 06:44 AM
This will even affect those that aren't ad-supported. I run a small hobby radio station and this will surely shut down my station!
Posted by: Sam at March 7, 2007 09:47 AM
I read an article about this in today's Wall Street Journal (3.7.07), and quite frankly, am sickened. Pandora isn't my only Internet radio destination. For me there's also Radio Paradise, SOMA FM, and many others. And that's the point -- options, creativity, and diverse independent music! Please avail yourself of the options on these sites, particularly Radio Paradise, for signing the online petition and contacting your Congressional representative. It's ridiculous that on one hand Congress would consider banning the merger of Sirius and XM Radio due to concerns about limiting listener choice, and at the same time let these royalty rates pass. Pandora people, I haven't logged onto the home page yet, but am hoping you create a link (if you haven't done so already) to create attention to this situation.
Posted by: Steve D at March 7, 2007 10:21 AM
I will write my representatives.
Another suggestion: Any of you who have purchased music from the independent studios or artists you have found on Pandora (or elsewhere on the internet)should go to the contact links on their web sites,let them know where you found their music and ask them to weigh in against this - with both RIAA and the congress.
Obviously, RIAA is captive of the big producers, or they wouldn't be trying to kill off the only effective free advertising available for these independent labels.
Posted by: Tom Nield at March 7, 2007 12:01 PM
I'll let my reps know. But plan for the worst. What do you think of Aruba?
Posted by: CTD at March 7, 2007 01:28 PM
Why laws in another country have to affect me and everyone else otside???
Internet radio supports new artists making music market hard to control by transnational music labels.They think that in a near future they wont be able to manipulate music trends any more (maybe they alredy have loose control) .
Don't forget that they are loosing audience on his media due the lack of good options
I mean has anyone listened how bad music is in air wave radio9stations thse days
Posted by: Francisco at March 7, 2007 01:56 PM
Like Steve I really enjoy Pandora and other Internet radio stations like Radio Paradise. I'm including a link to the online petition I've already signed in case it can help. http://www.petitiononline.com/SIR2007r/petition.html
The world is run by those who GET INVOLVED, so do all you can to stand up and keep Internet radio alive!
Posted by: Heather at March 7, 2007 02:04 PM
© 2005-2007 Pandora Media, Inc., All Rights Reserved
Pandora and the Music Genome Project are registered trademarks of Pandora Media, Inc.
back-words... return to the cyberwaves...
*** i no longer play for them ergo the links are no longer valid, but it was nice to get a new schedule so quickly (less than a week) after the other station folded. they weren't very schedule oriented at the time, but they were very kind to let me create one for myself so that i had a slot specifically reserved for myself.
Monday, November 6, 2006
return to the cyberwaves...
the fall of a radio station cant keep a good dj down.
i will be hosting my weekly show on radioation from now on.
mondays: 7-12, eastern.
http://radioation.armed.us:8000
tonight i will be spinning an ambient set, so tune in and enjoy.
the weekly show will now feature more genres.
thank you.
*P*L*U*R*
details:
http://radioation.com/
contact via irc (chat):
/server irc.gamesurge.net
/join #radioation
Monday, November 6, 2006
return to the cyberwaves...
the fall of a radio station cant keep a good dj down.
i will be hosting my weekly show on radioation from now on.
mondays: 7-12, eastern.
http://radioation.armed.us:8000
tonight i will be spinning an ambient set, so tune in and enjoy.
the weekly show will now feature more genres.
thank you.
*P*L*U*R*
details:
http://radioation.com/
contact via irc (chat):
/server irc.gamesurge.net
/join #radioation
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