While I wish Rusty were right about us, Beethoven.com is actually a company with ONE full time employee and a few people who work part time and help out because they believe is what we're doing and why we're here. Our parent subsidiary Marlin Broadcasting is a separate company that owns two FM stations and an AM station - hardly a large broadcasting company - and is privately family owned.
Comments that were attributed to me by the unfortunate article in the Register over the weekend were unconfirmed and unsubstantiated and purportedly were leaked to that writer from a private mailing list. The writer did not check with anyone to confirm that they actually wrote what they said, or what the context was for those comments. It was irresponsible journalism at best.
As for HR 5469, the problems that many people have with it, that I have heard, is that it potentially sells out the future of Internet radio to help a few fairly successful (in terms of audience) webcasters be relieved from retroactive royalties. It doesn't guarantee these companies ability to survive, obviously, but it does allow them to not be destroyed by the retroactive royalties. The problem for everyone else is at what cost to the industry. If it allows these companies to continue to swim, is it worth it if it makes the water toxic?
Kevin Shively
Beethoven.com
Slashdot Mirror
While I wish Rusty were right about us, Beethoven.com is actually a company with ONE full time employee and a few people who work part time and help out because they believe is what we're doing and why we're here. Our parent subsidiary Marlin Broadcasting is a separate company that owns two FM stations and an AM station - hardly a large broadcasting company - and is privately family owned. Comments that were attributed to me by the unfortunate article in the Register over the weekend were unconfirmed and unsubstantiated and purportedly were leaked to that writer from a private mailing list. The writer did not check with anyone to confirm that they actually wrote what they said, or what the context was for those comments. It was irresponsible journalism at best. As for HR 5469, the problems that many people have with it, that I have heard, is that it potentially sells out the future of Internet radio to help a few fairly successful (in terms of audience) webcasters be relieved from retroactive royalties. It doesn't guarantee these companies ability to survive, obviously, but it does allow them to not be destroyed by the retroactive royalties. The problem for everyone else is at what cost to the industry. If it allows these companies to continue to swim, is it worth it if it makes the water toxic? Kevin Shively Beethoven.com