From Radio & Records: "Simpson carries the dual title of COO of CBS Internet Group and Group President of CBS Online. Simpson will be responsible for developing and operating CBS' wholly owned and operated online sites, among other responsibilities.

Read R&R Online here (subscripttion required

From Radio Business Report: "Broadcasters with websites have some good news to pass along to their online advertisers: the federal government has no formal plan to place a tax on the new industry. That’s according to Rep. Kenny Hulshof (R-MO), who told the AAF conference today that he believes congress will continue the Internet tax moratorium.

"Rep. Charles Rangell (D-NY), who was also a speaker at the seminar, echoed that belief but warned that state governors and other local authorities are worried Internet tax-free transactions will harm local businesses. Rep. Mike Oxley (R-OH) also said he’s heard such concerns from his constituents but e-commerce has actually made the economy more productive and should not be taxed." Read RBR here.

From The Industry Standard: "The ever-on-top-of-all-things-relating-to-digital-music scribe Mark Lewis of LiveDaily news was again early on the scene with a story last week reporting that Universal's Farmclub label 'has given Los Angeles pop duo Fisher control of its Web site and the right to renegotiate royalties when downloads become more prevalent...'

"The story quotes players like Farmclub's Andy Schuon and includes a provocative statement from 'a senior new media executive at EMI' who said that artists' royalties 'maxxed out a decade ago.'

"Lewis also reports that some in the recording industry contend that download costs are higher than CD costs, citing 'new expenses from online marketing,' along with 'server storage costs, telecommunications charges, software licenses and, eventually, telephone help-desk costs (which) justify the current retail price of albums and artist royalty structure.'

"To which the rest of us say, 'Yeah, right.'"

Read The Industry Standard's "Beat Sheet" newsletter here.

BY MEL TAYLOR After sixteen years of working deep within the radio industry, everything from being a jock, to programming, to recently as a sales and marketing guy, at places like CBS, Chancellor and AMFM, I recently decided to take a step out of "the box." (Sometimes I looked at radio as 'a box' because it felt like something I was 'in', and I often had to look outside of it for New Economy perspectives and cutting-edge Internet success stories. I once heard someone call Radio a "fluorescent cubicle farm -- with a microphone and a hard drive in the back room." Ouch. That hurts). About five years ago, I started repositioning myself for "digital convergence" -- this hybrid TV/radio/Internet/wireless virtual gizmo of sorts. I also watched in amazement how the financial and automotive industries, among countless others, were, and still are being shaken to their roots by this locomotive called the Internet. It was because of these compelling paradigm shifts, that I finally decided to really understand how these new digital technologies could affect radio, and most importantly, how radio could harness them for business. (Of course, traditional, terrestrial radio won't totally collapse anytime soon, but it certainly will have to fight a lot harder for eroding slices of the pie. The Internet, satellite and wireless people will see to that. To prove this point, blow a call into any network TV executive and ask them if the explosion of cable, satellite TV, and pay-per-view caused them any discomfort over the past 10 years.) As I'm getting ready for my annual trek to the NAB Convergence Conference in Las Vegas next week, I've been thinking about some of the changes that have occurred in my sixteen-year radio career. After losing DJ gigs to satellite feeds a few times, and seeing Internet music sites popping up everywhere, it became obvious that I had to update my skill sets, hang up the headphones, and figure out how I can harness these new digital tools of communication. That's why I love going to NAB Vegas -- to stay current on the various ways of interacting via the Web, and to learn how radio can take advantage of it. So here's the deal: I'll use this trip to NAB to either confirm or deny, that the radio industry is very well positioned to maximize Internet synergies, if and when they decide to. While at the daily workshops, seminars and exhibits, I'll try to be your virtual RAIN correspondent. And if you're there too, come up and say hi. Hopefully, we'll discover some key applications and hardware that show potential in the music delivery and content space. Then it's up to all of us, to figure out how it relates to traditional radio models. Oh and yes, maybe I'll snap a few digital pix of the fountains at Bellagio, before trying to catch that rumored 'Celebrity Death Match' between the NAB's Eddie Fritts and the FCC's Bill Kennard. Wouldn't mind getting stuck in an elevator with those two guys!

Mel Taylor has a 16-year career in Radio that spans everything from Programming, Sales, Marketing, and even using the on-air name of 'Mel Toxic' for most of them. His background includes stints at WYSP, WDRE, WJJZ, and WIOQ Philadelphia. Recently, Mel has joined AXIOM Studio in Philadelphia, a digital design firm that specializes in 'eBranding for the eConomy', as Director Of Client Services, where he services the Radio Industry, and their growing need for more consistant 'station branding' across all platforms; print, web, wireless, e-mail, etc. Watch for Mel's reports from Las Vegas next week in RAIN.

In the most exciting contest in the history of Web-based newsletters about radio and Internet issues -- the RAIN Viral Marketing Contest, Phase Three -- we're giving away next week, to one lucky RAIN reader, a fantastic prize package.

We've previously announced that that fantastic prize package includes a state-of-the-art Sony digital music player and a state-of-the-art wireless-Internet-ready Nextel cell phone. And now this week we're adding something even cooler -- a Kerbango Internet radio!

It's a gorgeous-looking little table-top-sized radio that will be able to pick up hundreds or thousands of Internet radio stations, with no PC required. (Read more about it here and here.) Kerbango's marketing director, Mark Auerbach, has promised that you'll receive one of the very first delivered units -- in fact, you may even get to be one of the beta users!

And all you have to do to be eligible to win this fantastic prize package is to recommend RAIN to friends and colleagues in your address book who you think would enjoy reading RAIN. (And let us know by "cc:"ing kurt@kurthanson.com.

As we've told you before, if you've already recommended RAIN to some of your industry colleagues, then you're already eligible to win. (Check the list here to make sure your name has been put in the hat.) However, it would no doubt be good karma if you could think of a few more people (whether superiors, subordinates, or peers) you could also drop a line to.

So, why not tell a dozen or two
of your industry colleagues
about RAIN today?

If you need sample e-mail verbiage to use in making the recommendation, click here. Although your own words would probably be even better.

That way you'll make sure your name is in the hat for next week's drawing to select the winner of this fanatastic prize package.

Thanks...and good luck!

More coming soon! Contribute your suggestions here. (Suggestions already in the hopper include CableMusic.com, RadioWoodstock.com, Nerve Radio, Radio Gogaga, and HotCountryHits.)

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