BY PAUL MALONEY
On Friday, the U.S. Copyright Office ruled that broadcasters, like Internet-only webcasters, will have to pay copyright fees to stream music online -- even to simply webcast their over-the-air signal.

The government, however, chose not to rule on the issue of "interactivity," or how much a listener can influence the music he or she hears, and decided that the amount of personalization allowed will have to be determined for each individual case.

"This was a very good day for webcasters," said Jonathan Potter, the executive director of the Digital Media Association, which represents webcasters in the tilt against the RIAA.

From CNNfn: "The copyright office ruling is a step toward creating a regulatory structure for the nascent Web-music business, which is tangled in legal and regulatory disputes over how intellectual-property rights should work online, the Sunday Wall Street Journal reported.

"However, the regulators' decision faces a challenge in federal court, the story said. Broadcasters have filed suit in U.S. District Court in New York, asking a judge to rule on the issue.

"Edward O. Fritts, president and chief executive officer of the National Association of Broadcasters said...'Congress specifically exempted us' in legislation related to digital music transmissions, and radio stations already pay royalties to songwriters and music publishers, the story said.

Read this story here.

From CNet News: "Webcasters, which include companies such as America Online's Spinner, Launch, and Echo.com, had asked regulators to support their rights to allow listeners a limited ability to customize music streams by doing such things as skipping songs or rating artists so that they turned up more often in playlists.

"The question goes to the heart of how online radio can expand beyond the traditional formats of broadcast radio. Webcasters want to provide as much personalization as possible, short of allowing listeners to choose individual songs. But they have to respect copyright laws that block 'interactivity' unless the record companies and other copyright holders give direct permission...

"The Copyright Office also ruled Friday that it would consolidate two different arbitration proceedings meant to set this price. Early next year, Webcasters and the record companies will meet to hash out figures that will govern the period stretching from October 1998 to October 2000."

Read this article here.

We'll send you a brief daily summary of each day's stories with a clickable link to the RAIN home page.
First name:	*
Last name:	*
Station & market (or company or school):
E-mail address:	*
Note: Fields marked by "*" are required.

From StreamingMedia.com: "Fledgling online music site Riffage.com closed its doors Friday, citing a failure to secure the funding it needed to survive. Though it had been aggressively seeking a merging partner, none were found, said the company.

"Riffage's web site was replaced with just a letter from the company explaining that it was closing. The letter stated in part: 'Pioneers enjoy the thrills of new frontiers, but must also deal with the risks inherent in uncharted territories.'

San Francisco-based Riffage got its start as one of several companies, like MP3.com, that offered unsigned artists a place online to post their music for exposure and CD sales opportunities. The company had received funding from Bertelsmann Ventures, Bertelsmann's BMG Entertainment and America Online, among others."

Read the entire article here.

Among the executives involved with Riffage was radio veteran Scott Fey. Prior to joining Riffage, Fey was President/CEO of New Planet Radio, a company he founded and owned with partners which operated six music stations in Honolulu and Phoenix.

Have an opinion on this article? Share it! Simply click the headline at left to bring up a convenient "Submit" form.

From the company press release: "Sonicbox, Inc., creators of the iM Band and provider of iM Tuning Services, today announced that Clear Channel has joined the iM Band with San Francisco, Silicon Valley and the greater Bay Area stations including KMEL, The KSJO Rock Network, KFOX, KYLD and Channel 104.9.

"Through this alliance, Clear Channel will introduce the Sonicbox iM Tuning Software to these stations, and implement the Sonicbox e-commerce capabilities. As Sonicbox continues its emphasis on bringing "Best of Planet" programming to the iM Band, the relationship marks the first time the company has worked with a cluster of Clear Channel Bay Area stations bringing users additional high quality and compelling radio content..."

Read the entire release here.

Dec. 12-14, 2000	Streaming Media West 2000, San Jose, CA
February 1-4, 2001	RAB 2001, Dallas, TX