Another post.

Let's go right on into a sound-off, shall we?

I discovered this from KCRW - an awesome public radio station out of Santa Monica CA.

ASIDE: I HIGHLY recommend this station for its music shows. It has a live streaming feed and archives you can listen to anytime. I've become addicted to "Morning Sounds Eclectic" which airs 9-noon PST. (Perfect for late east coast risers like me.) If you love an eclectic mix of hip-hop, funk, alternative (whatever that means these days), electronica, singer-song writer, soul, and every experimental mish-mash you can think of - check it out. Archives and band interviews are encapsulated for anytime listening under the title Sounds Eclectic. Okay, the show is actually more formatted than I've made it sound - but they are definitely on the cutting edge and I've been turned on to many bands I'd never have discovered without it.

BACK TO THE RANT:
So, KCRW has been doing a phenomenal job of spreading the word and airing both sides of the current debate regarding internet radio. It seems the association for music composers (not sure I have the organization title correct) is pushing a legislation through Congress that would charge every internet station on a basis of per song AND per listener! I’m sorry, being played over any radio, and in many ways ESPECIALLY internet radio is the best thing that could happen to most artists. Not only are they getting free exposure, they are usually clearly IDENTIFIED in a way they are not with traditional radio. How many times have we said, “Oh, who was that?” Only to never find out. On the web you not only have artist, label, and cd, information, you are often linked to band bios, similar groups, other releases by the same band AND A DIRECT LINK TO PURCHASE THE CD! I’m a little confused as to how an internet station could owe an artist, composer or label more than that. If composers don’t get adequate compensation for the produced material – isn’t that a contract issue between the writer and the artist or the writer and the label?

Labels woo commercial stations with free concert tickets, advanced and free cds galore, band information, etc… Unless people were downloading from streaming shows and making money by the sale of permanent, repeatable music, I don’t see the validity of this case. And certainly not for a rate as exorbitant as proposed here.

Also – personally, I’ve grown addicted to the freedom and wild diversity of internet radio. It has fast become the answer to all of my dreams as a kid trying desperately to pick up local static-drenched college stations, or tuning in to”120 Minutes” past my bedtime once a week. The internet is changing the way people think, act, and most blatantly, the way people do business. Copyright is a touchy subject and one that will take some time to air out. But government control is NOT the answer. We need to adjust to the way we regard these things. There are always ways to make money. There are MORE ways to make money, in fact. They are just new ways. And FREEDOM is the key.

This is just my ranting – for comprehensive information on this issue visit KCRW’s
Save Internet Radio.

There’s even information on how to contact your local Congressman to have your say in the matter.