Music Biz *Still* Trying to Kill Web Radio

[TheRover]

Music Biz *Still* Trying to Kill Web Radio

http://voices.washingtonpost.com/fasterforward/2008/08/music_biz_still_trying_to_kill.html

If you're a fan of new music and easily offended by corporate thuggishness, you may not want to read my colleague Peter Whoriskey's story from Saturday's paper about the possible demise of the Pandora Web-radio service.

This is only the latest chapter in a sad saga that's been dragging on for most of this decade: how a largely unaccountable regulatory body and a trade group dominated by representatives of major record labels have tried to inflict a punitive system of royalty payments on Web-radio broadcasters.

 

[CaptainFirstReturns]

Just because we're paranoid doesn't mean they're not out to get us...

 

[Carmine5]

This has got to be the most frustrating situation facing web radio. The accusation by the RIAA and SoundEx that webcasters are not doing enough to make money just doesn't hold water.

I liked this point from Broadcast Attorney David Oxenford:

"If there was some way of making more money from Internet radio operations, doesn't the recording industry think that the webcasters would take advantage of those practices? Why would they leave money on the table if they could figure out a way to make it? If they could make money, they would - though the recording industry seems not to believe it."

http://www.broadcastlawblog.com/

The record industry would rather destroy internet radio than compromise. This is a clear indicator that they are NOT interested in recording artists who benefit greatly from online radio.

Of course, cluelessness coupled with cravenness on the part of politicos is also helping to hasten the death of web radio.

C5