Pirates..

[raccoonradio]

>>They exists because a business person or a corporation full of business folks believes that the audience that wants to hear that format is large enough for him to convince advertisers to spend their money with him.

Yes that's the way it is. Should the TV stations or networks do shows for every type of people or interest, or what makes money? Same applies to public or college radio (esp. the former)--they need to focus on what will do them good.

Pirates do indeed break the law and sometimes make money doing it--if they can get away with
it --and taxes, why should lawbreakers bother paying taxes, right?

 

[nocomradio]

I've never agreed with blatantly breaking the law, but let's face it: How many pirates are really robbing the Big Boys of anything real? Honestly?

Many pirates see a need and fill it. Many pirates do this out of their own pocket, not with investors. Many pirates are not scofflaws who break every law just because they can. Many pirates would probably get a license if it were actually possible. Many pirates don't advertise or take advertising dollars. (some do, I know but they are very much the exception)

All this said, yes, they are breaking the law, and yes for the broadcasters out there having to do it the legal way it probably is frustrating, but until the laws drastically change and allow those who wish to get into broadcasting to actually do it without having to shell out at least a half million to do so, this will continue to be a problem.

I personally have know and listened to a few pirates that had very clean signals and produced some very professional radio that rivaled many of the giants out there. Some were also former radio professionals that did it simply for reasons I mentioned above. Were they criminals? In the letter of the law, yes.

 

[dumber than a box of hair]

Many pirates are not scofflaws...

Wrong, but thanks for playing. EVERY pirate is a scofflaw. You cannot broadcast without a license unless your station is Part 15-compliant. Period. End of discussion. It's in the Communications Act, a federal law. Spin it any way you want, it won't change the facts.

 

[reelyreal]

1) LPFM
2) Buying brokered time

Causing interference is never acceptable. It just isn't. Pirates cause interference.

A lot of those costs have to do with the realities of operating a broadcast station. Broadcast equipment isn't cheap, neither are music licensing fees. Broadcasting, by nature, has always been expensive and will always be expensive. I'm sorry that some minorities feel left out. That's why the internet is such a wonderful thing.

 

[johnster]

I've never agreed with blatantly breaking the law, but let's face it: How many pirates are really robbing the Big Boys of anything real? Honestly?

Many pirates see a need and fill it. Many pirates do this out of their own pocket, not with investors. Many pirates are not scofflaws who break every law just because they can. Many pirates would probably get a license if it were actually possible. Many pirates don't advertise or take advertising dollars. (some do, I know but they are very much the exception)

All this said, yes, they are breaking the law, and yes for the broadcasters out there having to do it the legal way it probably is frustrating, but until the laws drastically change and allow those who wish to get into broadcasting to actually do it without having to shell out at least a half million to do so, this will continue to be a problem.

I personally have know and listened to a few pirates that had very clean signals and produced some very professional radio that rivaled many of the giants out there. Some were also former radio professionals that did it simply for reasons I mentioned above. Were they criminals? In the letter of the law, yes.

nocom your living in the past....
The pirates in Boston today are advertising, have interns, paid staffs, webpages, Twitter accounts and stream audio. They broadcast and stream without paying royalties and rights. They often us streaming as well as a studio transmitter link to further disguise the ownership or location of their transmitter. The transmitters are often located in apartment buildings on hills. Buildings not zoned properly and people living to close to antennas transmitting a thousand watts or more without any warning signs. When Hot 87.75 offers a hip hop club 20 commercials for the price of one Jamn945 spot that does hurt ClearChannel. When their 1000+ watt 87.75 signal keeps someone close from getting WMBR they are interfering. It doesn't really matter the degree of interference or the amount of money they are stealing it's the point. It's much like folks claiming that napster couldn't hurt Metallica. Just because the large ownership groups are not popular with the people at the moment doesn't mean that they shouldn't be afforded the protections that are supposed to come with the licenses they have or the rights they pay.

 

[RogerWilco]

Well said!

Boston's minority community no more deserves to have a format aimed at them then fans of polka music. Formats do not exist to serve anyone. They exists because a business person or a corporation full of business folks believes that the audience that wants to hear that format is large enough for him to convince advertisers to spend their money with him. It's really that simple no one is going to target a small audience when they feel a larger one is reachable

 

[raccoonradio]

There's a mindset that oh, everybody needs to be served but again radio is a business and there are only so many freqs out there. Want to serve those left out, you can webcast or whatever but going on air without authorization is just plain illegal, as is not reporting tax income. The royalty holders get screwed when music is played without fees being paid. They can shut down a video on youtube easily enough ("due to a copyright claim by Universal Music Group") but it's up to the feds to shut down a pirate.

Listen. I know a lot of us fantasize about doing our own thing and maybe setting up a pirate to play what we want. It's still illegal. We need rules. Even those who argue there's too much governmental interference in
our lives must admit that we need the FCC, etc. to prevent just anyone going on air and causing interference. There are other rules too, like content. You must play by the rules.

>>because a business person or a corporation full of business folks believes that the audience that wants to hear that format is large enough for him to convince advertisers to spend their money with him.

Since radio is a business.

>>people living to close to antennas transmitting a thousand watts or more without any warning signs.

Amen.

Some might think that the FCC, etc., should enforce rules that mandate that everyone gets served on the radio dial...including a "fairness doctrine", or even stepping in after a format change. I got a kick out of the comment on a WFNX page saying that perhaps the FCC could be brought in to stop the sale/upcoming format change of 101.7. Mindich sold the station willingly to Clear Channel, and for a pretty good price.
CC can do what they want with the signal, provided they follow the rules and regulations. I wonder if people are writing the FCC demanding CBS bring back 60s-80s on WODS...

In some places like Canada you have regulations like how many Eng. vs. Spanish stations there are in
Montreal (see the latest Fybush/North East Radio Watch). I think the CRTC may even regulate formats.
The language issue is debatable, but at least in the US the FCC doesn't step in with regard to format changes. They do step in (well sometimes) if someone decides to put a station on 93.5 in Mattapan
or 99.7 in Dorchester. Or if a station causes aircraft interference.

Again, we might get a kick out of driving around and suddenly picking up a pirate station. Their programming may even be interesting or could serve an underserved community.

It's still illegal.

 

[dumber than a box of hair]

until the laws drastically change and allow those who wish to get into broadcasting to actually do it without having to shell out at least a half million to do so, this will continue to be a problem.

Please, let's not pretend that spending no money was ever a way into broadcasting. What you don't understand is that it has ALWAYS been this way, from the beginnings of commercial broadcasting. Radio broadcasting is a business, not the toy of some narcissistic lawbreaker who thinks that everyone needs to hear his favorite songs or that some "community" is being underserved by other stations. It is arrogant to assume that the way to deal with that is to fire up a transmitter whenever and wherever one damn well pleases, especially when there are now so many other ways to hear your favorite tunes.

 

[nocomradio]

nocom your living in the past....
The pirates in Boston today are advertising, have interns, paid staffs, webpages, Twitter accounts and stream audio. They broadcast and stream without paying royalties and rights. They often us streaming as well as a studio transmitter link to further disguise the ownership or location of their transmitter. The transmitters are often located in apartment buildings on hills. Buildings not zoned properly and people living to close to antennas transmitting a thousand watts or more without any warning signs. When Hot 87.75 offers a hip hop club 20 commercials for the price of one Jamn945 spot that does hurt ClearChannel. When their 1000+ watt 87.75 signal keeps someone close from getting WMBR they are interfering. It doesn't really matter the degree of interference or the amount of money they are stealing it's the point. It's much like folks claiming that napster couldn't hurt Metallica. Just because the large ownership groups are not popular with the people at the moment doesn't mean that they shouldn't be afforded the protections that are supposed to come with the licenses they have or the rights they pay.

I didn't think I was that out of touch, and honestly where I live and visit, the only pirates I have heard can realistically be heard about a mile or two tops. With a decent and cheap LPF they aren't interfering with anything and probably broadcast a couple hours at the most. Sometimes I don't hear them for weeks or months. If in fact there are 1kW pirates doing as you mentioned, and I don't doubt there may be, then by all means, they need to be stopped. That is not just breaking the law, but flipping the bird to any authority.

But........if a pirate is that blatant about it, and everyone knows its a problem and folks cannot receive a legitimate station because of major interference, then why is the FCC turning a blind eye to it? They certainly must be receiving complaints. If not, then I can only surmise it isn't a problem, or someone is turning a blind eye, or both. Plus, they shouldn't be hard to find at all then. Its not like a 1kW signal is hard to find, even with a portable radio, and that much equipment can't be packed up and moved in an instant either.

Look at the NOUO's on the FCC webpage. You will see a bunch of warnings for some church broadcasting a low-level signal, some school station, or some individual with a flea power transmitter rather than the heavy-duty violators. Or, tower paint and light issues along with EAS records violations for the commercial stations. Rarely do I see anything in the list about Florida, New Jersey or New York, or Boston where the pirate problem is so rampant. Sounds like selective or nonexistent enforcement to me.

 

[nocomradio]

until the laws drastically change and allow those who wish to get into broadcasting to actually do it without having to shell out at least a half million to do so, this will continue to be a problem.

Please, let's not pretend that spending no money was ever a way into broadcasting. What you don't understand is that it has ALWAYS been this way, from the beginnings of commercial broadcasting. Radio broadcasting is a business, not the toy of some narcissistic lawbreaker who thinks that everyone needs to hear his favorite songs or that some "community" is being underserved by other stations. It is arrogant to assume that the way to deal with that is to fire up a transmitter whenever and wherever one damn well pleases, especially when there are now so many other ways to hear your favorite tunes.

I DO understand that it takes money to get into broadcasting. In the beginning only large companies like Westinghouse, RCA and others were top dog. It has exponentially increased in costs over the years even further now, to where without a group of investors and a large bank to back them, getting into radio in a decent market is very tough. In my original hometown we had several small stations that were owned by folks who lived and worked in the same place and they did a good job of running successful, albeit small stations that served the local area well. That isn't the case anymore. Unless you are Clear Channel or the like with all the trappings of something that size, you are pretty well out of luck.

That said, I don't believe that just any yahoo with a microphone and a collection of MP3 files should be allowed to get on the air and spout either. That would be a mess in short order. What I did mean in my original post is that I can see why some do choose to go the pirate route however. Yes, its illegal, and yes its stupid, especially if you are interfering and causing problems. Given the hoops that one would have to jump through and an overseeing agency that has something other than their core mission in mind, for an upstart to even get in line can be very difficult. Just knowing when an LPFM window is going to open is a mystery. Then, the larger corporate guys come in, snatch them up and stick another translator on the air and rebroadcast the same signal and same content over 7 or 8 different markets, often times miles from their original COL.

 

[cd637299]

I live near Miami, and we have a pirate issue here too.

Another member here reminded me of something very crucial. A pirate can interfere with not only other FM stations, but also aircraft. I'd hate to think that an airplane cannot get the proper flying conditions (or heaven forbid, could go down in flames) because of a pirate FM station.

I wanna say that a few years back we had a pirate on 105.5 that was brought down by the FCC because of interference to aircraft. It was long long ago, but it certainly can happen again.

Yes, they are breaking the law.

cd

 

[raccoonradio]

>>, but also aircraft.

One reason Datz Hits 99.7 got shut down.

The 99.7 and 93.5 I mentioned were right next to legit broadcasters and were shut down.
Touch 106.1 so far has not been, other than "warnings", "fines" etc. Maybe they can get away
with them being on a second adjacent. If it were Touch 105.9, they'd be shut down. They have
some community support and while some have tried to shut them down maybe they do
"selective enforcement"...and wouldn't shut them down unless they were on a first adj. or
caused int. to aircraft.

>> Clearly this was one pirate the government wanted to make an example of. And that all might have to do with the interference the pirate was causing at Logan airport in Boston... The forfeiture action was brought after complaints were received from a licensed broadcaster about interference with its radio signal, and from the Federal Aviation Administration who complained of interference with radio communications at Logan Airport.

http://bbs.freetalklive.com/free-radio-forum/fcc-raids-'datz-hits-radio'/

 

[surfin bird]

Pirates are criminals...Save the Taxpayers $$$ and just drag the criminals to death behind a bus.

It's only radio man.

See above post

What is there to see?

the sarcasm remark?

 

[surfin bird]

until the laws drastically change and allow those who wish to get into broadcasting to actually do it without having to shell out at least a half million to do so, this will continue to be a problem.

Please, let's not pretend that spending no money was ever a way into broadcasting. What you don't understand is that it has ALWAYS been this way, from the beginnings of commercial broadcasting. Radio broadcasting is a business, not the toy of some narcissistic lawbreaker who thinks that everyone needs to hear his favorite songs or that some "community" is being underserved by other stations. It is arrogant to assume that the way to deal with that is to fire up a transmitter whenever and wherever one damn well pleases, especially when there are now so many other ways to hear your favorite tunes.

Again, I'm going to try and bring you back down off of your soapbox here. Because you like to hear the sound of your own horn. This is the idea of being a "Pirate." To broadcast illegally because who wants to be Mr. No-Fun Pants and apply with the FCC Nazis? Those Pirates AREN'T...let me repeat...AREN'T draining revenue from your station. And this is coming from someone who works in the industry (seems that DTABOH isn't the only one... ). Now, I agree that if Pirates are caught they should pay fines, but aside from my sarcastic post on having these pirates dragged to death, I don't feel that they should face jail time like that of a child r@pist. Nor do I feel that they should be rAped either. Those are your sick thoughts Dumber. Not mine.

 

[dumber than a box of hair]

I don't feel that they should face jail time like that of a child r@pist. Nor do I feel that they should be rAped either. Those are your sick thoughts Dumber. Not mine.

Before you make a fool of yourself yet again: Go back through this thread and attribute those statements properly. I never made them.

 

[dumber than a box of hair]

Those Pirates AREN'T...let me repeat...AREN'T draining revenue from your station.

...and you know this how?

 

[nocomradio]

I'd hate to think that an airplane cannot get the proper flying conditions (or heaven forbid, could go down in flames) because of a pirate FM station.

And that has happened how many times in the history of aviation? Name one instance. Not just interference, but an actual safety threat.

I am sure its been an inconvenience, but planes aren't falling out of the sky as of yet.

 

[cd637299]

I'd hate to think that an airplane cannot get the proper flying conditions (or heaven forbid, could go down in flames) because of a pirate FM station.

And that has happened how many times in the history of aviation? Name one instance. Not just interference, but an actual safety threat.

I am sure its been an inconvenience, but planes aren't falling out of the sky as of yet.

I never said it did. All I know is that I wish I could DX FM while flying----and maybe I can----but I don't want to jeopardize anything or anyone.

I don't work for the FCC, nor am I an engineer; but obviously the FCC takes the issue seriously, even if it's just interference.

cd

 

[dumber than a box of hair]

I'd hate to think that an airplane cannot get the proper flying conditions (or heaven forbid, could go down in flames) because of a pirate FM station.

And that has happened how many times in the history of aviation? Name one instance. Not just interference, but an actual safety threat.

I am sure its been an inconvenience, but planes aren't falling out of the sky as of yet.

Former FCC district director Vin Kajunski told a local SBE meeting about ten years ago about an incident at Miami International Airport, in which he assisted in catching the pirate. He was operating an improperly filtered transmitter on the upper end of the FM band, adjacent to aircraft frequencies, and one of his transmitter's spurious artifacts was throwing overmodulated Cuban music right on top of MIA's control tower frequency. Pilots could not hear their approach and landing instructions. Supposedly the tower at the West Palm Beach civil-aviation airport could hear this moron too, although that airport uses a different frequency.

In fairness, however, most pirates are smarter than to pull a stunt like that. This guy in Miami got taken down hard.

 

[theradiokid]

I'll preface this by saying that some of you will not agree with, or particuly like, this post. It's also possible that the moderators may edit me; that's OK. I'm going to say what I feel and believe anyway.

It is my opinion that the FCC should stop kissing the buttoxes of Greater Media, Clear Channel and the rest, and leave the Boston pirates alone.

Since it is obvious that the FCC, and many broadcasters, seem to not care about minority listeners ("I'm sorry minorities are left out, but this is a business), maybe the NAACP, or someone should take the FCC and broadcasters to court over this. Hopefully then, broadcasters and the FCC will step back and see how unfair, unreasonable, and, yes, even racest the policies are that determine who does and who doesn't get a license.

I've been observing this industry for most of my young life, and this is what I can deduce from it. If you're Clear Channel, you love to voice track, the community means nothing, your favorite listeners are caucasions, radio is a business to you, and, oh yeah, you have lots of money to spend, you are granted a license. If, however, you are "Touch 106," you don't have a lot of money, but you want to serve your underserved community, well then, not only does the FCC say "to heck with you," and not give you a license, but if you broadcast anyway, they rade your station, and shut it down. I'm sorry. I'm not going to sugar coat it. Those pirates are rightfully breaking the law in order to do what the big broadcasters won't do, and what the FCC won't give them a license to do. If the FCC wants to resolve this legally, they need to get rid of the auction system, which is unfair to the poor and disadvantaged licensee, and start enforcing service to minorities. And I believe they also owe the good folks at "Touch 106" an apology for harassing them. If I were "touch," I would've filed a harassment suit a long time ago.