Slashdot Mirror

← Back to Stories (view on slashdot.org)

The New Webcasting Compromise

Posted by timothy on from the or-just-less-hampered dept.

arkham6 writes "According to a story on Yahoo, it appears that the RIAA and negotiators for webcasters have reached a tentative deal for reduced rates for 'small' webcasters. However, it appears now that the artists themselves are going to jump into the fray because the record companies now may be able to weasel out of paying the artists."

7 of 128 comments (clear)

  1. Paradigm Shift by claygate · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Artists and music pirates have long heralded the removal of the middleman from the music business. This paradigm shift will in effect allow the record companies to make more money and the artist the same amount. Until the artists have a method of promotion that does not require a record label they will always receive the short end of the stick. Maybe instead of $2million advances, a loan of $200,000 from a bank and some hardwork promoting your band as a day job, and playing at night for the band. Turn the band into your business and it might be successful. A few ands have taken that route and succeeded.

  2. Artists... by jmv · · Score: 5, Funny

    ...record companies now may be able to weasel out of paying the artists

    The artists, they think that just because they're the ones that work hard to create that music, they're entitled to some part of the profits. Shame on them! They should make their effort in order to to help the poor guys from Sony/BMG/EMI/... so they can make a living. With all these music terrorists around, it's really hard being a major label.

    --
    Opus: the Swiss army knife of audio codec
  3. middleman mania by Alien54 · · Score: 5, Insightful
    The deal came after an intense week of negotiations that was sparked by pressure from a key lawmaker who threatened legislation that would delay implementation of the payment.

    The RIAA agreed to something because they still want "their" money

    Although artists rights groups appear to have no problem with a deal that helps small webcasters, a union official expressed concern about language that could allow the record companies to avoid paying artists their share of the royalty directly. The language seems to allow the recording industry to deduct the top expenses that they incur for setting up and maintaining the royalty payment regime.

    "Direct payment is crucial, and if the recording industry gets deductibility language, we need direct payment," said one artists rights advocate familiar with the negotiations.

    Obviously they have gone back to their old reliable first choice of people to mess with, just to make sure they get their middle man piece of the pie.

    I want to make life size voodoo dolls of these folks.

    --
    "It is a greater offense to steal men's labor, than their clothes"
  4. Re:let me get this straight by Glytch · · Score: 5, Funny

    Exactly! You'd just be depriving artists of proper advertising by not playing their music. That's just like theft, you music terrorist.

  5. Librarian: did he ever admit the bad data source? by geekotourist · · Score: 5, Interesting
    After the head librarian set the rates, it came out that the numbers he worked with came from Yahoo, which set that rate to shut out small broadcasters. It is as if an economist setting some tax rates for, say, software, used numbers straight from Microsoft, even though Microsoft can do monopoly pricing. Or if the economist was testing the average price of toys, and measured prices only on November 26 and December 26 (both traditionally big sales days in the US). In other words, the foundation of his report- the Yahoo data- was unreliable.

    Did he ever admit that his model relied on abnormal data? I've seen nothing that shows that he re-ran any of his financial models. A good researcher admits when a data source is retroactively found to be inaccurate- the librarian is so far not acting as such. He needs to redo his calculations based on multiple data sources.

  6. Who's going to think of The Artists? by Lux · · Score: 5, Insightful

    This makes me more than a little sick. Whenever they appear before Congress or talk to a journalist, the RIAA only talks about "The Artists" {rights, livelihood, right to compensation, insentive, ...} but the second the royalty pickings get a little too slim for the studio's tastes, the artsists are the first ones to take the pay cut.

  7. Re:may not work out at all by zwoelfk · · Score: 5, Funny

    Well, I am only speaking for myself but...

    If the choice comes down to Britney Spears' music or civil liberties, I'll choose civil liberties.

    If the choice comes down to Britney Spears or civil liberties? Which civil liberties exactly would I have to give up?