From Newsbytes: "Internet radio is growing rapidly in popularity, but Webcasters are struggling to turn an enthusiastic audience into dollars and cents...

"The solution, according to (Webnoize director of research Lee) Black, is consolidation. He said Internet radio stations will combine with national radio groups over the next three years to create Webcasting hubs. These hubs will give Internet radio stations the buying power to negotiate better rates for content and bandwidth, Black said.

"'A large radio station ownership group like Clear Channel owns thousands of stations. It can drive listeners to the Clear Channel hub. This gives the efficiencies of the hub, while driving listeners and advertisers from the local stations to the site or sites of the Internet radio stations,' he said.

"Four major companies that own radio stations are in the process of forming a 'LMIV,' or Local Media Internet Venture, Black said. 'They are acquiring the technology to support the Webcasting needs of 203 stations.'"

Read the complete article here.

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From the press release: "I/OMagic Corporation, a leading developer and marketer of peripheral PC products, announced that it will launch the first product in its new series of MP3 players with the I/OMagic Neo Jukebox 2200 -- an MP3 player with the ability to hold up to 600 CDs (20 GB of capacity)...

"The I/OMagic Neo Jukebox 2200 features MusicMatch Jukebox software to play and rip CDs. It has built-in USB support, is compatible with both a PC and a MAC, and is easily upgradeable via downloadable firmware...

"The I/OMagic Neo Jukebox 2200 is expected to have an MSRP of $499.00 and will begin shipping in April 2001."

Read the press release here.

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From CNet News.com: "Facing the prospect of a post-Napster world, tension is starting to build between copyright holders and Internet service providers over who should police other file-swapping networks that are poised to step in as replacements.

"Record industry representatives have contacted ISPs in more than a hundred cases over the last few weeks alone, asking them to shut down or otherwise block access to subscribers' computers that are offering Napster-like file-trading facilities.

"This is a common practice when a subscriber is offering copyrighted material on a Web page or FTP site hosted by the ISP, for example. But in a peer-to-peer model, songs and other copyrighted material are located on individual computers, not the host's servers. This has prompted some ISPs to say that the record industry and copyright holders are overstepping their bounds.

"'The content community would like ISPs to act as a global police force, and that's not their job,' said Dave McClure, chief executive of the United States Internet Industry Association (USIIA), the main ISP trade association. 'It seems to me that ISPs don't have the obligation or even the right to monitor the data on their subscribers' hard drives.'

"Reluctance by ISPs to pursue alleged copyright violators into their homes could make it costly for content owners to bring infringers to heel. But even if ISPs refused to cooperate fully with copyright holders, it's unlikely they would be able to provide consumers with a perfect shield from enforcement actions."

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This feedback is in response to RAIN's coverage (here) of the Major League Baseball's plan to charge listeners for webcasts, and the league's deal with RealNetworks...

"Does this mean MLB controls all rights for Internet broadcasts?..."

The question of whether or not local affiliates will continue to broadcast games over the Internet will depend on the terms of their rights contract. These agreements are made with the team in question, not the MLB. MLB owns the rights to all post-season games, and dictates the rights rules for those broadcasts.

So, does this new agreement mean that now MLB controls all rights for Internet broadcasts of all teams, whether or not the flagship station has rights to broadcast the games on the Internet? And, does this mean that the agreements with affiliates of the team broadcast networks now have to be amended to blackout Internet broadcasts?

It'll be interesting to see what happens come April 2.

Rich Petschke, President RIS Solutions

"RBN is a competitor..."

This goes to the core of what I've been saying for quiet some time now: RBN is a competitor of anyone who broadcasts on the Internet. They're going to take their money [much derived by those purchasing their Real Server and Licenses] and put that money to work in the form of broadcasting content. If you're a radio station or a TV station, how smart are you to choose them? You're paying to use their system and they're going out to get other content to compete with you.

Your point about blackouts... if that happens; think of the egg on the face of the website of that team [or its broadcaster] who's about to be blacked out of webcasting its own games, especially if they USED TO USE REAL products. That very company that they funded [via serving with Real's product] will be the one company denying you a chunk of revenue.

Salvatore Lepore Cyberradio2000.com

March 30-April 4	MOBE: Universal City, CA
April 2, 2001	Digital Media Outlook: New York, NY
June 20-22	Streaming Media West 2001: Long Beach, CA