Can Internet Radio Survive?

curunir writes: "Salon is running an interesting interview with the program manager for the internet radio station, SomaFM. He discusses some of the effects of the recent CARP recommendations (previously discussed on /. here). We all know the DMCA is bad, but this seems to be a particularly good example of where its broad nature is curbing reasonable web uses."

Comments

I Don't Like the DMCA, But...

[mgrochmal]

I can understand their desire to maintain their copyrights. They have enough fronts to fight with the casual piracy with file sharing that was featured at the Grammys. (I can find a whole bunch of problems with that speech, but that's another post.) They need to cover the costs of running a business. A 14/100 cent royalty is irritating, but it wouldn't be nearly as bad if it had to be retroactive. If it could meet halfway and charge the royalty starting when the DMCA took effect, it would be more reasonal. Still a hassle to the smaller broadcasters, sure.

On another note: it may help the DMCA's image if it cut the smaller stations a bit of slack. The stations can bring newer and more off-the-beaten-track music to listeners's attentions. They can find the music at the CD store and, in a round-about way, cover the fees. Assuming a price of $15, one CD could pay for about 107 songs playable on-air. This leniency can also make any anti-trust prosecutions that might crop up think twice, since the slack towards "the little guy" shows it's not out to crush the competition for the airwaves and playback rights.