Many of us are avid listeners of Internet Radio. As well as the big players (CBC, BBC, NPR etc.) this new media has spawned a multitude of small, independent listener-supported webcasters.
I'm listening to one of the best of these as I write this: RadioParadise. Run by Bill & Rebecca Goldsmith from their home in the small Sierra Nevada town of Paradise, California RP offers an eclectic mix of rock, pop, jazz and alternative music. But maybe not for much longer: the RIAA (Recording Industry Association of America), the folks who killed Napster, are at it again:
On March 2, 2007 the Copyright Royalty Board (CRB), which oversees sound recording royalties paid by Internet radio services, increased Internet radio's royalty burden between 300 and 1200 percent and thereby jeopardized the industry’s future.At the request of the Recording Industry Association of America, the CRB ignored the fact that Internet radio royalties were already double what satellite radio pays, and multiplied the royalties even further. The 2005 royalty rate was 7/100 of a penny per song streamed; the 2010 rate will be 19/100 of a penny per song streamed. And for small webcasters that were able to calculate royalties as a percentage of revenue in 2005 – that option was quashed by the CRB, so small webcasters’ royalties will grow exponentially!
Before this ruling was handed down, the vast majority of webcasters were barely making ends meet as Internet radio advertising revenue is just beginning to develop. Without a doubt most Internet radio services will go bankrupt and cease webcasting if this royalty rate is not reversed by the Congress, and webcasters’ demise will mean a great loss of creative and diverse radio. Surviving webcasters will need sweetheart licenses that major record labels will be only too happy to offer, so long as the webcaster permits the major label to control the programming and playlist. Is that the Internet radio you care to hear?
Go give them a listen before their sweet vibe is silenced forever by the greedheads at the RIAA!
(Low-bandwidth streams available for dial-up users lost in, say, the wilds of Manitoba!)
macadavy:
Does this apply in Canada as well? Does the CRTC allow similar royalities to be charged to internet stations that originate in our country? (for that matter, are there any internet stations within Canada?)
A letter from a citizen may (a big MAY, but mostly that is all we have) be effective. I am not sure if a note from outside the US would have a big impression on their deliberations.
croghan27
I love RadioParadise. Favorite radio station by far.
Hey maybe we can get Bill & Rebecca to do their thing from Canada? Would this be legit?
Low-bandwidth streams available for dial-up users lost in, say, the wilds of Manitoba!
Now to whom could you possibly be referring?
I think the royalty issue in Canada is not as clear cut. I have read that some 'net radio stations are talking about broadcasting from Canada but I haven't heard whether or not it would work. (Guess that might be a problem with being lost in the wilds of Manitoba;-))
BTW - After 6 inches of rain in the last month, The Gopher Ranch is running a special on giant, economy size, jenyuwine Manitoba skeeters - get the 10,000 pack for only $1.00. Just think of the fun you could have disrupting that party the neighbour you can't stand has planned for this weekend.
Whooee! There's plenty o' servers located in Canada that are fully capable of streaming media to the world. I ain't sure it's a long term option, even if it may be legal here right now. The anti movie piracy deal Harper made with Arnold a week or so ago foretells of us bein' forced down the same copyright/DRM path as the Merkans.
Our MP's a ignoramuses in this area and they're bein' lobbied hard by the big money in the music and entertainment industry.
My fave radio: www.folkalley.com
JimBobby
Maybe internet radio people should relocate their servers to Venezuela.
Music royalties are payable for any performance (live or via any media). I'm afraid JimBobby and other commentators are right: Harper's leading us down the garden path to 'harmonization' with the States in every way. As it says on this here website: Vive le Canada! No deep integration!
To keep abreast of this and other developments regarding 'Net neutrality in general go to: Net Neutrality Canada.
About those giant Manitoba skeeters: keep 'em. There are no flying, biting insects in "the wee village by the sea on the edge of the rain forest" (Dr.Foth) and I like it like that!
About those giant Manitoba skeeters: keep 'em.
Well, for our online shoppers only, we have an even better deal. For only $1.00 more you can have the entire Manitoba Pest Package. Just think of it, for a toonie you get:
- the 10,000 pack of giant, economy size, jenyuwine Manitoba skeeters;
- 100 guaranteed-to-be-hungry wood ticks;
- 1500 Bigger Bite brand black flies;
- 25 Bulldog brand horse flies;
- the pocket gopher that has erupted in my front yard;
- the skunk that let loose near the house last night;
- and Vic Toews (there is a small additional fee for muzzling).
Makes a perfect gift for your friends like the ones at 24 Sussex Drive and the White House. We even pay the shipping.
Offer good while supplies last which means, unfortunately, this is not a limited time offer.
The beautiful Pandora internet radio service had to shut down outside the US for reasons related to this - and, having been digging, I can comment on the situation facing internet radio in Canada at present.
So, Croghan, Jasen - the answer is, not yet, but close. The Copyright Board of Canada is currently reviewing one tariff (SOCAN Tariff 22) which would establish the royalty rates payable to the composers; IMO the proposed rate is too high (both the %-of-gross and the monthly minimum), but I'm guessing it's better than the RIAA's hiked rate. The other tariff we'd need in place is the equivalent NRCC tariff for the royalties-to-performers. The CBoC hasn't received the proposal for this one yet but the NRCC should be submitting it soon(ish). Then they have to hold hearings, etc., but eventually come up with a decision.
Companies wishing to operate from within Canada could do so in the meanwhile; the tariffs will be retroactive, but the NRCC's stated position is that shutting people down is dumb and counterproductive, so they'll let you operate on a "we'll pay the royalties once you tell us what the heck they are" basis if you want to take that risk. Makes it a business-case decision rather than a legal one.
Cross-border copyright is even more tangled than that. International trade law doesn't seem to be clear (at present) on which set of copyright laws governs - the sender's or the receiver's - and it'll take ages for that to catch up to the tech. So reestablishing in Canada is a reasonable option; broadcasting across the border is a legal risk with no present answer. IANAL - but I've been researching this to try and help Pandora get back into Canada; its absence makes me cry.
If someone started a Canadian mirror of Bill&Rebecca's service, then they could legally serve stuff into Canada without being bound by the RIAA's brutality. You can check out the CBoC's list of tariffs here. SOCAN's proposal is 15% of gross and a $200/month minimum, which is horrendous for small companies like these; dunno what the NRCC's will look like, nor even whether it's traditionally higher or lower than the SOCAN part. But that at least provides a guess.
Better yet, contact the CBoC and tell them that 15%/$200 is too damn high! IMO the rates should parallel those of commercial radio, which are down in the 5% range IIRC.
Maybe internet radio people should relocate their servers to Venezuela.
Oh, drat. Don't know just how that happened.
Man, can you imagine what would have happened if the RIAA were as strong as they are now when the actual old-fashioned radio first came into existence? There would basically be no radio with music on it. They would have succeeded in outlawing it in case people started listening to radio instead of buying sheet music or gramophone records.
Eric:
That's a thorough grounding in the issues, you've obviously done your homework, thanks for sharing!
Meant to include a clickable link to the Copyright Board of Canada. Give 'em hell!