The FCC review in this case was prompted by a listener disappointed that he had not won a prize, accusing the station of not publicizing the rules of the contest, and of “fixing” the winner. While the Commission found no evidence that the results of the contest were in any way improper, the complaint still seemed to trigger an extremely close review of the rules.
November 24, 2009
A new report from Washington Research Group Concept Capital says that is it becoming less likely that the Performance Rights Act, which would force radio stations to pay royalties for playing music, will become law. In recent months, the House and Senate Judiciary Committees have approved the legislation, and a meeting was held between broadcasters and record labels to engage in mediated discussions over a possible compromise. However, Concept Capital says the odds are dropping for the legislation to pass in the 2009-10 Congress. The research group reduced its estimate from 60 percent to 40 percent odds of the bill passing in the next 12 months.
NACA and the College Gig
How to Navigate The Educational Market
By Will Morgan
The college gig, in one respect, can be thought of as the generic store brand in the music industry supermarket – only a few people seem to be aware of it, despite its relative value. As a culture of advertising-inundated consumers, we instead reach for the big names on the shelf, or for the purposes of this example, the principal venues with established reputations. And more often than not, especially if you’re a musician, these items are beyond our means, financially and otherwise.
The Future of Internet Radio
Will the success of Web radio spell the end of traditional broadcast radio?
By John C. Dvorak
Over the past month or so, there has been a heated battle between the music industry and Internet radio about rights and fees. Actually, over the past decade, there has been nothing but trouble surrounding Internet radio. I think it’s one of the reasons that podcasting emerged as an alternative to Internet radio. Look closely at podcasting, however; with the exception of the advanced auto-download via RSS aspect, it’s actually just more Internet radio.
According to major label vet Ted Cohen , “the main problem centers around the minimums [that services pay labels for the use of music],” he wrote. “The economics just don’t work. A ‘mea culpa’, I was a big proponent of per-track minimum rates for both paid subscription and ad-supported services when I was at EMI. I WAS WRONG!”
Online radio audience grows to 42 million!
Last week Arbitron Inc. and Edison Research released their latest study “The Infinite Dial 2009.” This study showed that the usage rate of digital audio platforms, suck as online radio, iPods, podcasting, etc., has significantly increased since 2008. Interestingly enough, weekly online radio audience has grown to roughly 42 million Americans, up from 33 million in 2008.
Representatives from the National Association of Broadcasters (NAB) met with members of Congress and the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) to reiterate the negative impact that local airplay royalties would have on local radio stations that provide free airplay to its 235 million weekly listeners.
ShareThe Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation voted in favor of the Local Community Radio Act of 2009, a bill that would allow for the expansion of Low Power FM stations by abolishing third-adjacent channel spacing requirements for full power FM outlets. The legislation has already made it through two key House committees and [...]
