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Web Radio and the RIAA
Andrew Leonard writes: "Steve Marks, VP of legal affairs of the RIAA, is duking it out with critics in a point-counterpoint debate focusing on the nitty-gritty details of how artists will be compensated by the new rules on Webcasting royalties."
Artists won't be compensated at all if there aren't any web radio stations left.
sulli
RTFJ.
Since when has the RIAA compensated actual artists for their music? This money will just go into the RIAA coffers, some of it being distributed to the top 20 or 50 or whatever sellers of any particular music medium.
The artists I like make all their money selling t-shirts and products on tour...
The money went to artists? I thought it went to lobbying efforts.
Visit saveinternetradio.org, a site by the folks behind the Radio And Internet Newsletter, or RAIN. We in the radio broadcast industry are doing everything we can to make it clear that the CARP recommendations, based almost line-by-line on what the RIAA asked for, would effectively eliminate radio broadcasters from the internet streaming arena. Oddly enough, RIAA member companies are in the process of rolling out their own for-pay services... coincidence, right?
I'm only wearing black until they come out with something darker.
Finally, with regard to your observation that the confusion about the artists' share of royalties is the fault of SoundExchange because its Web site is not up to date, you'll be happy to know that's because SoundExchange doesn't have a webmaster -- thereby eliminating one more thing that might otherwise "siphon" money from the artists
Does it really seem like that should be considered a good thing? I mean, isn't that a little bit like telling people the airline doesn't have a pilot, thereby eliminating one more thing that might otherwise "siphon" money from the airline stockholders?
But don't worry...
Since the FCC allowed Clear Channel to own up to 49% of as many local radio stations as they wanted, I've heard a lot more crap on the radio, both from shitty Creed ripoffs and more screaming car salesman. Stuff like live365.com keeps me going during work hours. If this passes, I'll probably just turn the radio up till I go deaf. It would be better than commercial radio is now.
(-1, Raw and Uncut is the only way to read)
It is very likely that I'm crazy but, aren't they getting increased exposure, FOR FREE, by being netcast?
crazy dynamite monkey
The process was completely undemocratic -- none of these stations was allowed to testify at CARP. WCPE was specifically excluded
see also WXYC's save our streams page and Save Our Streams
Certified Black Helicopter Pilot *** Unwitting Dupe of One World Gov'ment
The statute requires that 50 percent of the royalties be allocated to artists, and the CARP determined that this 50 percent should be paid directly to the artists...Yes, it is true that the costs of collecting and distributing royalties will be deducted from the royalties, but how else would the money get to the record companies and artists?
Only 50% will go to the artists. But when I put aup a bad account for collection at my job, we pay, in most cases, only 25%, and maybe less than that. Why are the collection "fees" imposed by the RIAA so high?
Sounds like a ripoff to me.
If I weren't nailed to the penis, I'd be pushing up the daisies!
...I'm reminded of a little ritual I do once every two or three days. As I'm just starting to wake up, still squinting at the light, and go to the sink to wash up and shave, I look myself in the mirror and say, "John. Be glad you're not an artist."
-Paul.
Does this web radio legislation hold any weight for independents? If not, just boycott major label artists and play things on independent labels. There are thousands of amazing bands out there just waiting for an audience larger than 5000 (such as Godspeed You Black Emperor!, Squarepusher, Cannibal Ox, and Tortoise). Give them a listen and, at the same time, give the RIAA the finger.
For the past 4+ years people have been ripping, burning, broadcasting, playing, trading, leeching music on their computers.
.. another pops up. The RIAA wins one lawsuit .. looses another. .. four more take its place.
Artists have never been compensated for any of this.
The RIAA shuts down one site
The RIAA bans one piece of software
Money that is supposed to go to 'the artist' will always be caught in this never ending cycle.
Personally, I don't understand why record companies want to charge for webcasts or why they think they are entitled to. AM and FM have always been free after price of equipment (a radio). A webcast is simply the progression of this using new technology. From the point of view of the artist, I would want my songs to get as much air (and web) play as possible in an attempt to sell more records, tapes, cds, minidiscs, dvds, etc. All casts, that is streaming music whose content is not decided by the listener directly, should be free. That, is the entire point of advertising. Don't make people pay for the ads, which music on a cast is for the artist's cds anyway.
While the informed elite on /. already know this information, further widespread discussion of the lack of compensation to artists by the RIAA and the like can only be a good thing. The soundbites on national and local news only ever discuss "stealing from artists" and "artists not getting paid."
So far the RIAA has been feeding the information to the wide audience. The more the general populace understands that many of their favorite artists don't make a dime from record sales, the more likely the RIAA will be forced to join us back in the real world.
http://www.salon.com/tech/feature/2002/04/03/web_r adio_redux/print.html
I like this last bit:
As for SoundExchange's inability to update its Web site due to not having an on-staff webmaster, please take a look at this 10-minute guide to HTML. I'm sure some of the talented folks at SoundExchange could pick up the skills needed to update the text of your Web site within a couple of days, and it would have saved many hours of many people's time (and prevented much confusion) if there hadn't been a number of folks pointing to the SoundExchange site as proof that (for instance) SoundExchange will not be paying the artists directly.
It is always good to encourage techical literacy.
"It is a greater offense to steal men's labor, than their clothes"
Do the FM radio stations that I listen to pay the artists for playing their music?
If they do- I have to admit, I did not know that. If they don't, why are internet radio stations any different?
Personally this matters less and less to me as I become more and more disinterested in what "popular" music is floating around out there.
As is regularly posted in this discussion, there are a lot of bands that just want to be heard and have not sold out. They are usually much more interesting. And lets be honest - it does not take a whole lot of talent to produce most of what you can hear on the radio or buy on a $17.oo CD
.
It's hard to believe that's how Micronians are made. Why don't we see it right now by having you both kiss one another?
"Marks noted that contrary to Hodge's assertion, 50 percent of royalties generated by webcasting would go directly to recording artists."
I'd look up the word "royalties" right about now. I'd look at that definition long and hard.
It seems to me that webcasters should simply have to pay the licensing fees to ASCAP, BMI, and the other organization I can't think of just as FM broadcasters do. IIRC, these fees are based on listenership, so the fees probably wouldn't be that high for most webcasters.
I just don't see why the RIAA cannot treat them equally!
Sig (appended to the end of comments you post, 120 chars)
Don't ever listen to the RIAA saying that they're fighting for artist rights, or ensuring that artists are properly compensated. That's not their job. The RIAA's job is to protect the interests of the recording companies.
If BMI, ASCAP, SESAC, AFTRA, etc. weigh in, then you can listen with a slightly less-jaded ear, but the RIAA saying they're looking out for artists is like Microsoft saying that they're only trying to squash unix for the good of their customers.
Like them or not, the RIAA is a very effective organization for what they do - but I take offense when they purport to represent the interests of recording artists.
Slashdot comments... splitting hairs since 1997.
Media Industry really seems enamored by the pay-per-view ideology. Instead of hearing songs from radio for the cost of being assaulted by ads, we get pay-per-songs in web radio? Wonderful.
The real pay-per-view experience of renting a movie is fundamentally different experience from listening to a CD. How many times have you listened to your favorite CD? How many times have you seen your favorite movie?
If the former does not exceed the latter by an order of magnitude, you're probably one of those Rocky Horror Show freaks..
I have to wonder how much of the new revenue from digital media will end up fueling lobbying to outlaw DRM-free hard disk drives etc.
Me running my 24K, 10 stream hobby station that peaks at about 2 listeners. I would sure hate to have to pay the same as the big boys....Or even have to comply to ANY rules that they have to....Considering it would take 1 lawyer per ear in the audience to even do anything about this....
(+1 Funny) only if I laugh out loud.
In order for AM and FM stations to broadcast, they have to pay license fees to the major performing rights organizations (ASCAP, BMI, SESAC). These not-for-profit organizations then distribute royalties to the songwriters (not necessarily the recording artist).
What's interesting here is that the RIAA is using copyright infringement as it's argument to squash these technologies that it can't control, while dressing it up as "fighting for the rights of artists." Laughable.
It's not copyright infringement for a radio station because they have physical media (bought or provided) and pay license fees to broadcast the works via radio - they aren't making a copy of the information. I'm surprised that we aren't hearing more about digital radio facing the same hurdles as web-streaming.
Slashdot comments... splitting hairs since 1997.
Herein lies the double edged sword: The Industry has all the $$$. They'll let you have some for awhile, but they will get it back in fucking spades. If anyone thinks the Industry gives one rat's ass about their artists, take note: Where is Hootie now? (not that I care ;)
Anytime you add a middleman, prepare to be screwed.
As much as I'd like to say that that is indeed the causation I'm very skeptical. I'd say that at the same time Napster was flying high the economy was bouncing around quite nicely, and the same time Napster got shut down the economy went tankola. Record sales I would think mirror economic conditions fairly consistently. Now, that's not to say the record industry's take is correct either.
jwz has written up a nice article that explains how the current licensing works and how the proposed CARP licensing would work here. There is no way Internet radio will be feasible if this goes in to effect, even without the added fees. Check out the information broadcasters would be required to report to the RIAA: there is no fewer than 18 pieces of information required for each song played! Not to mention the information that must be gathered from each listener. But just in case, the fees can be applied retroactively.
I hope that if this does go into effect, there is a large backlash. Remember that this is an election year. Votes still matter and politicians still care about getting them.
Hopefully other govts won't follow the US precedent.
Anyway how can they enforce this on some 14 year old shoutcasting through his cable connection?
The RIAA is one of many media cartels that control what we see and hear (e.g. "content") while screwing the artists (content-creators).
Musicians and songwriters get a very small portion of the profits from CDs, royalties etc. They go on tour and push t-shirts and other merchandise because those aren't controlled by the RIAA, and they can make some money that way. Likewise, writers get pennies for each of their books that sells. Big-name actors and actresses do very well (as they have leverage), but other people (perhaps even more important to the film process) like writers make squat. Virtually all the major news outlets in the country are controlled by just a handful of companies. The list goes on...
Of course, these cartels aren't all bad. A writer can't publish a book without a publishing company to edit, revise, print, promote and distribute the book. A new music group wouldn't be able to publish, promote and distribute a CD - they don't have the capital. The record company does take some risk on when signing a new artist, and deserves to be compensated for the service they provide.
However, these companies have unfair leverage because of collusion and lack of traditional competition between cartel members. They take the lion's share of the profits, control and censor what gets distributed to the public and charge as much as they want.
When was the last time you went to the movie's and got to see one cheaper because Tri-star was having a sale to compete with Paramount? This never happens because most movies are produced by one monopolistic entity known as "Hollywood". There is no risk involved for the movie studios because they hardly ever lose money, even on bad movies. As a result, we get crap like Battlefield Earth.
Likewise, the diversity and quality of music has gone way downhill (espescially in recent years). The RIAA controls virtually everything we hear. New acts and new sounds have a very hard time breaking in because the RIAA has a vested interest in keeping up the status quo. I mean, if I hear that damn Linkin' Park song one more time I'm going to spontaneously self-immolate.
They also leverage their monopolistic control over their "intellectual property" to extort profits from everyone they can. It can be argued that radio stations ought to get paid for promoting their products, but instead, they usually end up paying royalties. The arrangement benefits both sides - the profits shouldn't be so one sided.
Both the consumer and the artist would benefit from the breakup of these cartels. Competition would force record companies to compete on prices, and compete for acts (e.g. fair contracts). They would sometimes be willing to take on a risky new act on the chance that it could be big. Different companies would try to establish themselves in various market niches, creating diversity. Record companies would look to take advantage of new technologies to compete against others, rather than try to ban them (as they are competition from outside they cartel). News products, movies, books, etc. would also be cheaper, more interesting and more diverse.
Anyhow, that's my take.
... "Give me a woman who loves beer and I will conquer the w
It doesn't matter to the RIAA if there are no web radio stations left at the end of this battle. They'll replace them with their own when they're good and ready. That's the whole idea- control.
A writer can't publish a book without a publishing company to edit, revise, print, promote and distribute the book.
You're kidding, right? People do indeed publish their own books all the time, either because the intended audience is too small, the subject matter is too controversial, or because they have a burning desire to publish something that the media cartels won't touch for whatever reason.
Thoreau published some of his own works. So did Robert Ringer of "Winning Through Intimidation" fame and Henry Martyn Robert of "Robert's Rules of Order". So did Mark Twain, Zane Grey, Upton Sinclair, Carl Sandburg, James Joyce, D.H. Lawrence, Edgar Rice Burroughs, George Bernard Shaw, Thomas Gray, Elizabeth Barrett Browning, Alexander Pope, Lord Byron, Percy Bysshe Shelley, Alfred Lord Tennyson, Edward Fitzgerald, Leo Tolstoy, Stephen Crane, Willa Cather, Nathaniel Hawthorne, Edgar Allan Poe, Thomas Hardy, James M. Barrie, Walt Whitman, Vachel Lindsay, Francois Mauriac, Ezra Pound, T.S. Eliot, Richard Bolles, Joseph Smith, Mary Baker Eddy, Rudyard Kipling, A.E. Houseman, Marcel Proust, and Rod McKuen, among other names you would and wouldn't have heard of.
It is indeed possible to break through the cartel wall and be recognized if you have an audience waiting, although it isn't easy. For every name above there are 500 people who printed a thousand copies of "Aunt Wilma McGillicuddy, A Nebraska Life" and sold four. The Internet is probably the best facilitator for self-publishing and letting talent be discovered there's ever been, which is why it's so important the media moguls not be allowed to cut off its air supply.
Someone you trust is one of us.
So that means that the shutdown of Napster is responsible for the current economic situation.
Nope. I was saying that it was coincidence, and that the economy going tankola is probably a better explanation for record sales going into the toilet.
One way to circumvent the RIAA is to go to Kazaa or Morpheus or wherever and download music from your favorite artist... and then mail the artist an anonymous money order for $1.00 for each song you download. Download an entire 12-track album, send 'em $12. You'll be saving money over buying albums in stores, and the artist will see a lot more green.
Heck, $0.50 per song would still be ten times what the artists get now.
"Destroy science and religion. Science would re-emerge exactly the same; but not religion." - Penn Jillette, paraphrased