*BYE BYE RADIO

For the decades that radio has been a part of our culture, there has been a general consensus that the promotional benefit an artist receives by having his/her song broadcast to the world is compensation enough. Sure, bigger artists get paid by radio stations for their music, but for the most part, songwriters (not performers) are the only ones getting royalties. Not anymore…

On the first of April, President Obama’s Commerce Department sent a letter to the Senate Judiciary Committee that expressed the administration’s “strong support” for specific legislation that would require radio stations to pay royalties to recording artists. There has been an on-going battle between the RIAA (Recording Industry Association of America) and the NAB (National Association of Broadcasters) on this topic and this letter is a significant win for the RIAA. Read the letter here.

If this bill goes through, the fees will hit the (already struggling) terrestrial radio industry hard. In fact, this could be the blow that K.O.s terrestrial radio as we know it. Online and satellite stations have been paying performance royalties since day one, and in fact, these are some of the only fees associated with running a non-terrestrial station. The cost of running a station like KISS FM or KROQ can reach hundreds of thousands of dollars a year before these proposed fees. This, plus the addition of growing support for online radio may sink “old-fashioned” radio into the history books. I say good riddance. The monotony that has become modern, terrestrial radio is killing creativity and musical tastes anyway. I’d like to see artists like Ke$ha and G@ga survive without their songs being blasted into the ears of our generation on repeat without any discretion…

What do you think?

…DJ MAGIC

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You’re currently reading “*BYE BYE RADIO,” an entry on Free Beats: Cary Sherman

Published:: April 7, 2010 / 7:50 am

Category:: Original Thoughts

Tags:: changing of times, NAB, Obama, online radio, RIAA

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The music industry is in turmoil. It is hard to predict what will become of the constantly changing copyright laws, but it is safe to say that something needs to happen, and fast. I am simply here to tell the big dogs about the music revolution that is happening in the cyber streets. Specifically speaking to RIAA (Recording Industry Association of America) Board President, Cary Sherman, it is my goal to influence the RIAA board, & in turn influence record label executives around the world to change their policies about the free downloading of music on the Internet.

If we are to enjoy the vast possibilities of the Internet as they apply to business & creativity, the eyes of those in control must be opened & shown the light. So please, Mr. Sherman, it starts with you. Change the RIAA’s policy on intellectual property & allow the music market to be free.

Bob 4.7.10 / 11am

Hey there, I support the push to distribute the royalties fairly. I don’t know if it is justified if the radio industry were going to collapse though, that would be a counter-intuitive move on their part. However there is something to be said for your annoyance of commercialised radio! I’m not sure about the radio scene in the US but when I went there there seemed to be a lot of the same stuff but I also discovered Sirius which was pretty damn cool and DOES serve as replacement of traditional radio. Over here in the UK those services are not so common but I think our radio is more independent. Ironically, one of the more experimental radio stations on the BBC radio network here is due to be axed because of lack of funds causing mass irritation with their staff and listeners…!

formerpagentkid 4.8.10 / 3am

I love the radio! I really love listening to kfi 640 am los angeles. I don’t think radio will be going away for a long time

AJS 4.8.10 / 7am

I agree with your blog completely, there is no way that the music industry can stop this. Even though we do want to support our artists I feel there are different ways of doing that.

kentringer 4.8.10 / 7am

I agree with you. The loss of radio would be a major change in our society, and perhaps we are not ready for it as a collective, but I say good riddance to the entire affair. Of course, this will just explode a new venue/medium for pushing artists signed by labels with plenty of money to throw at them.

perry115 4.8.10 / 9am

I think it would be insane if we no longer had radio. Saying the bill goes through, I think we would be in big trouble and could basically kiss radio goodbye. I think your post was well written and the photos fit in well!

forevercouture 4.8.10 / 5pm

Its interesting to see how things play out as new technology rises. It is known that the music industry has been one of the industries that have struggled to embrace the rise of social media and the availability of free music.

I think this is the perfect topic for you, I know music is a passion of yours and that you’re very knowledgeable about the inner working of the industry. Great blog!

luckeeduck87 4.8.10 / 5pm

In all honesty, radio is on its way out, which is unfortunate. Artists who create good work should be paid for it, which is where I agree with you. But I feel that there should be different mediums for which they should work on. This is an ambitious topic and one that deserves more credit and in depth look into why things have changed so rapidly and why artists aren’t getting paid anymore. Hopefully you can talk about that in your other posts.

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