Ask the Honcho of Internet Radio's SomaFM

This week, Rusty, the general manager of Internet Radio's SomaFM, is the subject of the Slashdot Interview Spotlight. Some of you may remember Rusty from a recent Salon interview. Now he's making himself available to Slashdot and I'm sure you all can figure out a few questions to ask that weren't covered before. I'm sure many of you have questions about CARP, the future of Internet Radio, and the technology behind it. So let's get to it! As usual, we'll send off the 10 highest moderated questions on to Rusty, and we hope to have the answers for you sometime next week. <PLUG TYPE=SHAMELESS>BTW - If you haven't checked out the streams available at SomaFM, give it a try. Taste the Groove Salad, and the other 8 commercial free streams available on SomaFM. Ah, if only normal FM radio could be this good!</PLUG>

Comments

RIAA and CARP

[jpt.d]

How do you see the possibilities of winning against a CARP that smells of RIAA? Because RIAA has a lot of control over what traditional radio plays and control is what this is all about.

how much does the recording industry really care?

[Laplace]

I was curious to know how much the recording industry cares about small stations. Do you think that the Recording Industry Association of America is going to come after these tiny internet broadcasters, some of which are run out of someone's bedroom, and actually try to enforce this legislation? Given the bandwidth small stations operate on, their lack of mainstream exposure, and the tiny bang for the (litigious) buck, it seems that the record industry can spend their resources elsewhere with greater effect.

Thoughts about Digital Rights Management?

[SPYvSPY]

Given the availability of programs like streamripper (and others like it, I guess), do you have any plans to accomodate the myriad of digital rights management schemes in the pipeline? Which, if any, do you support or intend to implement? Do you think that you have an obligation to do so?

BTW, keep up the good work. I can say with total sincerity that your stations have introduced me music that I would otherwise never have heard. I thank you, (and so does my iPod). ;)

Pirate Mythology

[tcd004]

Right now Internet Radio enjoys a sort of "pirate" image, which I think endears it to many people because they feel like they're supporting independent media.

However, my guess is that as it grows and becomes more profitable, most Internet radio is bound to end up owned by 2-5 big players, as is the case with most other media. Do you expect internet radio to get bought up like the movie studios, local TV stations and radio stations, or do you think it will be able to stay independent?

Would mergers and consolidation ruin internet radio, or would it help it?

Thanks
tcd004

Will CARP (crap) affect overseas operators?

[Anonymous Coward]

The beauty of the Internet is that no single government (or stupid government person) could stop an entire class of service - look at Internet gambling. That said, why not relocate to a co/lo service in India?

Or, better yet, just run amok of the law? Last I heard, the Library of Congress is a library, not an authorized body to create policy. Since they are attempting to do so, why not block them on the grounds that they are exceeding their charter, and therefore, acting against the constitution?

Also, the fact that internet based transmissions are treated differently than FM based transmissions is ridiculous. This is the foundation of the "separate but equal" crap that CARP is funnelling.

128k MP3 (and less) is not a perfect reproduction of sound, as the LoC contends. It is no more perfect than FM, and no less perfect. Both formats mangle stereo separation, both add audio artifacts, and both deduct from clarity and depth of the source's timbre. The only real difference is one is digital, and the other analog.

And both formats HELP drive record sales. The big difference to the RIAA is that they don't control the channels of distribution for MP3 servers. All SomaFM, or any other internet broadcaster needs is a music library, a fast connection to the net and powerful servers. In order to broadcast on the air, you need to give some slimy FCC official a kickback, and/or be owned by TimeWarnerAOL, Vivendi, or Viacom.

I can't help but see the future of the RIAA - all the offices burned to the ground and the leadership decapitated. This another one of those infuriating instances where their feeble attempts at limiting distribution channels so that everyone listens to the same, soulless crap that record producers are puking at us.

What am I missing?

[Otter]

Radio stations are obliged to respect copyrights on music, right? No one except "Down with intellectual property types!" propose that commercial radio stations should be able to play Britney Spears songs without paying her for it.

So why should your money-earning radio station be different because it's sending a signal over IP packets instead of radio waves? I'm sympathetic (somewhat) to Joe Cable-Modem who is doing a just-for-fun broadcast, and my understanding of CARP is that is has some retroactive charges that are disturbing, but why should I defend your right to run a radio station for free?

I keep reading about all this great unrestricted music that's distributed through P2P networks. If that's so, leech off them.

Re:What am I missing?

[Otter]

Answering my own question:
Reading a little more on this, I found a link to this NYT article, which is a lot more persuasive for being a lot less alarmist and greedy than most of the IP-related stuff that gets linked around here:

In a 1998 copyright law, Congress gave Webcasters an automatic license to stream copyrighted music so long as they paid a royalty fee to be agreed on later. Like broadcast radio stations, Webcasters already pay about 4 percent of their revenue to compensate composers and music publishers. But American broadcasters have never paid a royalty for using sound recordings, which are typically owned by a record label, successfully arguing that record labels are already compensated by the promotional benefits of having their music played over the air.

Webcasters argue that the recording industry should recognize that it derives a similar benefit from music that is streamed over the Internet. In an arbitration panel proceeding supervised by the copyright office, the Webcasters proposed a royalty rate about equal to those paid to composers and publishers, 5 percent of revenue. The recording industry asked for 15 percent of revenue, or a comparable per-performance fee.

In February, the arbitration panel proposed a formula of 0.0014 cent per song, per listener. Conventional broadcasters who stream simultaneously on the Internet would pay half that rate. The rate falls between what the two sides asked for. But because there is no option to pay a percentage of revenue, and because so few Webcasters are making money on advertising, it works out in some cases to far more than a station's total revenue.

OK, that makes a lot more sense. Editors and submitters -- you'd make better advocates by linking to something like this instead of to rabid, partisan pieces like the CARP link in this story.

Cutting out RIAA music

[mcc]

Something that has been brought up a couple times in other threads, and that i am kind of curious about:

The CARP is something the RIAA is imposing, correct?
Does this or does this not mean that if an internet radio station were certain to only play music by non-RIAA artists, it could stay in business?
It would not be terribly easy to find material for a net radio station that only played independent music, but it would be possible, i think, and at the least i'd listen to it.
But am i just confused? Would that be feasible from a royalties standpoint? What exactly is the royalties relationship between independent record labels and internet radio, before or after CARP?

One more small question: the page on CARP on your site says that non-US broadcasters would not be subject to the CARP fees. How would this work out? Would this just mean that anyone in Canada would be able to netcast worldwide without having to pay any fees other than the ones imposed by their government? Or would stations outside the U.S. be barred from netcasting to U.S. citizens? If stations outside the U.S. are allowed to run free, what would the regulations say about a server in the U.S. that is just repeating what is being broadcast by an internet streaming radio station located outside the U.S.-- so that the lag created by the internet links that go across the atlantic ocean are minimized. Could a repeater of this sort be classified as just another router, or would the repeater be subject to the CARP payments?

Thanks for clarifying things.. just curious. Hopefully, the LoC will see through this blatant attempt by the RIAA to silence internet radio and none of the above questions will ever become an issue. I wish you luck..

Business Model

[Everach]

How does SomaFM compare fiscally to a traditional FM or AM business?

Specifically, are there any fiscal advantages to using an internet-only format to outweight the disadvanges (like a lack of big-name advertising)?

Advice on Starting up your own station

[hardcorejon]

There are a number of online resources to help you set up your own online radio station. A simple google search will provide lots of help.

But there are many reasons NOT to do it:

• It's a bandwidth hog. Unless you have T1 speed internet access, or machines at a colo facility, you won't be able to support very many listeners.
• It's expensive. Even in the absence of the RIAA, T1's and colo's are expensive. Fast servers that can stream to many people are expensive.
• You don't have the time. There are 168 hours in a week. Are you going to be on the air for all of those? Not likely.

Fortunately, there is a solution to ALL these problems: OPENdj.

OK, it's kind of a shameless plug, but here it is: OPENdj is the world's first public-access Internet radio station. Anyone can sign up for a show, and using nothing more than a 56k modem, you can broadcast to the world, from anywhere in the world.

And for the truly insane, if you don't like streaming through someone elses radio station, and you really want to run your own station, you can: The software that powers OPENdj.com is open source software - check out OPENdj.org for info on that.

Drop me a line if any of this has piqued your interest - I'm always interested in getting feedback on how to improve things.

Finally, a shameless developer plug: OPENdj is very much in active development. There are a lot of great features in place already (automatic archiving of all broadcasts, etc) and there are a lot of great features yet to be built, so if you're looking for an itch to scratch, this could be it.

- jonathan.

kexp Radio

[cheinonen]

If you want commercial free (basically), FM radio, try out kexp.org. Also 90.3 FM up in Seattle, they have multiple streaming options (56k and 96k mp3, Real Audio, and even a 1.4 Mb uncompressed WMA stream), live playlists, and a really diverse music selection.

They are paid for my sponsorship drives, like public television, but also supported by the Experience Music Project up here (note: EMP is a project of Paul Allen as well, so the station basically exists thanks to all that Microsoft money that Allen has). They also take song requests from people continaully, and it's introduced me to lots of bands that I otherwise never would have heard on most commercial radio, or even most streaming internet radio.

Royalties loophole?

[Dan Crash]

The statutory royalty rate for Internet simulcasts of FM radio broadcasts is only half that of Internet-only broadcasts. So couldn't any web station cut their royalties in half by spending $34.95 (plus shipping) to buy a micro-FM transmitter?

Here's what the law says in Title 17, 114. Scope of exclusive rights in sound recordings:

The performance of a sound recording publicly by means of a digital audio transmission, other than as a part of an interactive service, is not an infringement of section 106(6) if the performance is part of ...a nonsubscription broadcast transmission.

It doesn't require you to be a licensed or noncommercial broadcaster, simply that your performance is broadcast freely over the airwaves.

Has the webcasting industry looked into this loophole at all? Seems to me that cutting your operating expenses roughly in half could be the difference between economic life and death for most companies.

Disclaimer: I am not a lawyer (thank God!), but I am a pirate radio broadcaster.

Re:Royalties loophole?

[Dan Crash]

Actually, no, they wouldn't need a license. That's the whole point. Like your cordless phone or your Wi-Fi link, microtransmitters like the FM-10 broadcast at such low powerlevels that they don't require a license.

So, in theory, a large webcaster like Soma webcasting several streams could simply broadcast them first over a micro FM transmitter. The webcasts would then be "retransmissions" of a "nonsubscription broadcast transmission", and subject to the lower royalty rates.

question

[tezzery]

If the RIAA proposed rates do get approved, where do you see this going in a few years? How will this affect media monsters such as Clearchannel? Do you think commercial stations will begin supporting more independent labels, (or even better) artists will slowly realize who the enemy is and not sign to RIAA labels? (I know it might seem far-fetched but it's wishful thinking). What's your opinion on the bigger outcome of this battle?

Fraunhofer, and OGG Vorbis

[E1ven]

What amount do you currently pay in MP3 liscensing, in order to stream SomaFM over the internet?

With all the threats and attacks to MP3 streaming by Fraunhofer, have you considered moving to streaming OGG Vorbis files?

As Winamp is now shipping with native support, this could be a good way of shaving down some of the fees regarding your business.

If the content barons win.....

[Bobzibub]

...the RIAA *does* have a lot more money than us...And just look at that farm bill.. Ugh!
What requirements would a distributed, untracible, pirate* broadcast network have? (besides the obvious)
I have some thoughts:
- Java. (fast to write/platform indy)
- IP/UDP? (less trace-able connections than /w TCP/IP)
- Ogg. (I like Ogg)
- Peers can hand off streams to less busy servers. And probably should after a fixed amount of time.
- use standard clients (xmms, etc) in combination with server (peer) component? Or force use of client/peer?
- how to initially connect to the network?

Sounds like a fun project to me!

luv SomaFM. 'xcept when ./'d. : )

Cheers,
-B
* I say "Pirate" here in jest, of course...I just don't want the *RIAA* to get any of my money. Artists need better pimps.

Popular (internet) music on the Radio?

[Traa]

As much as I love internet radio and hope to see it stay I have been wondering why some of the more popular music themes on the internet are not available on commercial radio. I am talking about the sounds of SomaFM's Groove Salad, Digitally Imported and other internet radio stations playing Ambient, Trance or any of the other more mellow versions of Electronic House. What in your opinion is the reason we can't find these styles on commercial radio?

Best of luck and keep up the good work!

Going commercial or no?

[Traa]

Internet radio is an all or nothing thing for me. I either find the type of music I want to listen on an unlimited commercial free radio station (SomeFM 24-7 right now :-) or I am not interested at all. Say you can't fight the upcoming legislation, do you see youself survive as a (semi-)commercial internet station, or is this the end?

Good luck and keep up the good work!

Big Earl

[hitchhacker]

Hi Rusty, thanks for the beautiful music!

I wanted to know what you use for Big Earl's voice synthesis. It sounds awfully similar to Dr. Sbaitso from the early 90's.

Also, I noticed that there are many songs that have disapeared from groove salad's playlist from around last year. (GOOD songs). I wanted to know if this is because you were forced to remove them, and how many other artists/labels are being held back this way. This music is so good it gives me goose-bumps, and I can't stand the thought that there is more that I am missing.

my letter is off to my controllers^H^H^H^H^Hrepresentatives,

-metric