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London's Radio Pirates Changed Music. Then Came the Internet. (nytimes.com)
Earlier this month, The New York Times ran a story which looks at the ways a network of illegal radio stations changed British music, and wonders where young people are going to make culture now, now that the internet is killing off the pirate radio. An excerpt from the story: Ofcom, the British communications regulator, estimated there are now just 50 pirate stations in London, down from about 100 a decade ago, and hundreds in the 1990s, when stations were constantly starting up and shutting down. Ofcom considers this good news, because illegal broadcasters could interfere with radio frequencies used by emergency services and air traffic control, a spokesman said.
But pirate radio stations also offered public services, of a different sort: They gave immigrant communities programming in their native languages, ran charity drives and created the first radio specifically for black Britons. Pirate radio was also the site of some of Britain's most important musical innovations, introducing pop to the airwaves in the 1960s and incubating the major underground British music trends of recent decades, up to and including dubstep and grime: Dizzee Rascal, Wiley and Skepta all launched their careers on the pirates.
But pirate radio stations also offered public services, of a different sort: They gave immigrant communities programming in their native languages, ran charity drives and created the first radio specifically for black Britons. Pirate radio was also the site of some of Britain's most important musical innovations, introducing pop to the airwaves in the 1960s and incubating the major underground British music trends of recent decades, up to and including dubstep and grime: Dizzee Rascal, Wiley and Skepta all launched their careers on the pirates.
and wonders where young people are going to make culture now, now that the internet is killing off the pirate radio.
It has never been easier to promulgate "culture" (e.g. audio) that you make.
It has to be a $%^&load easier for more people to make music with today's tech and put it out on the internet than it was to do it with older tech and try to get it onto "pirate radio".
For example, the sole reason of this word being in the title, because it evokes modern usage of "piracy" as incredibly stupid but accepted word for "copyright violation".
Obviously, when you are using a radio frequency without paying for it, you are actually taking somebody's resource: nobody else can use this band in that area.
Modern copyright infringement does nothing of that sort.
Result: confusion, obfuscation, disinformation, propaganda.
I do not believe in karma. "Funny"=-6. Do good and forbid evil. Yours, Oft-Offtopic Flamebaiting Troll.
If this journalist wonders where "the young people will make culture" in the age of the internet, then this journalist is stupid and probably doesn't know how to internet very well.
Have you actually been to London?
Of course he's never been to London. He probably thinks driving to the next crappy flyover State is "travel".
None of those idiot A/C's who post nonsense about muslims have ever been anywhere. Why bother when you can stay at home and have Alex Jones and Fox News tell you what to think?