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BY PAUL MALONEY
With the lack of an officially determined royalty rate and cumbersome
proposed recordkeeping requirements making Internet streaming that
much less attractive, the streams all 101 of Entercom
Communications stations will soon be silent.
A statement released today said, "We regret that at
this time we are no longer streaming our radio station(s) on line.
Due to many factors we've had to make the difficult decision that
this is no longer a service we can provide." The official "effective"
date of the decision is tomorrow, though at this time many stations
have gone ahead and pulled the plug.
Director of Internet Operations Amy
Van Hook told RAIN today that it all came down
to a matter of practicality. "Given the combination of costs,
legal issues, and technology involved," she said, "streaming
just isn't a smart business decision" right now.
RAIN verified that many Entercom station streams
were already down, including those of WKSE-FM/Buffalo,
KISW-FM/Seattle,
and WLMG-FM/New Orleans.
However, KDND-FM/Sacramento
and WEEI-AM/Boston were
still streaming as of midmorning today via StreamAudio.
(Interestingly, we couldn't find a "Listen" link on KDND's
page, nor a mention of the streaming shutdown.)
Van Hook said only 20 of the company's properties were still
available on the Internet before this latest measure. According
to her, Entercom began considering silencing the streams over a
year ago, when as many as 54 of the outlets were online.
A number of developments began eroding the roster of streaming
Entercom stations since that time. The AFTRA situation of last spring
(when union commercial talent demanded 300% scale for radio commercials
that ended up online), and streaming provider StreamAudio's
switch to a fee-based model were two. And, according to Van Hook,
the streams simply didn't have the audience to make it worthwhile.
"The return's simply not there," she said today.
"We can reach multitudes more people with our weekly newsletter"
and loyalty marketing program.
This is from the KISW website:
An earlier report cited one Entercom station's message on the
development. Included was a bit of "editorializing" that
laid the blame at the feet of politicians and record labels. That,
according to Van Hook, was added to the official company statement
at the station level. She did, however, name the Digital Millennium
Copyright Act (DMCA) and the Recording Industry Association of America
(RIAA) as being part of the problem.
"The DMCA needs to be amended," Van Hook said.
"That's the real problem, and that's where the RIAA gets its
power over us from," she added, referring to record labels'
demands for high royalties and extensive reporting information about
the songs that are played. She cited the "performance complement"
element of the law, which restricts the number of times a single
artist can be played within a given time period, and prohibits the
announcement of upcoming songs.
"So we're supposed to change how we do things on the
air (to make the streams legal)?" she added. "That goes
against how programming works."
Van Hook did leave open the possibility the company would
return to streaming "when it makes economic sense."
Entercom is the fourth largest broadcast group in terms of
revenues, founded in 1968, and with 101 stations in 19 markets.
This is from the WKSE website:
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From Reuters in USA Today: "XM
Satellite Radio Holdings and Sirius
Satellite Radio are in talks with wireless companies to
resolve a dispute over interference with wireless communications
services,
officials said Thursday.
"The two sides have been bickering over the satellite
services using equipment to extend their digital radio signals to
hard-to-reach areas like metropolitan areas where skyscrapers can
block satellite beams.
"Such equipment, called ground-based repeaters, could
interfere with some wireless communications services...
"One industry source said that a framework was being
developed by the parties — which include AT&T Wireless,
BellSouth and Verizon Wireless and others — but there is still work
to be done.
"The power levels of the repeaters could make or break
the agreement, the source said. The wireless carriers argue that
a power level of the repeaters above 2 kilowatts can overwhelm their
services. Some companies have plans to use their airwaves for two-way
fixed wireless high-speed Internet services.
"On the other hand, the satellite radio firms have said
a power level below 40 kilowatts can affect their signals."
Read this entire article in today's USA Today, or
online here.
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Regarding yesterday's
lead story ("Major labels still not ready to use the 'Net to
market product")in RAIN here...
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"Indies
are waiting in the wings..."
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Oh come on. Does anyone doubt that the music industry knows
how to use the Internet for promotion and marketing
of product? If they don't, I can give them a hundred ways.
The truth is what the music industry wants to figure out is
how to control it. But there is
no reason for the music industry to be paranoid. The music industry
should embrace new technology, not try to suppress it.
Take peer-to-peer technology, for example. It can be used
to take advantage of the greatest selling tool the music industry
has...word of mouth. It's a new age. The digital genie is out of the
bottle. The Big Five labels need to adapt to this new environment
or they will sink under their own weight. Indies are waiting in the
wings. They are not paranoid and are already taking advantage of what
the Internet can do.
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"The
way of the dinosaurs..."
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Radio broadcasters behaved this same way when television was
introduced. Justice and progress will prevail, if the music industry
tries to fight this evolution rather than embracing it, it will
go the way of the dinosaurs. Maybe that is the best result. The Internet
is a means of cutting out that big fat middle man which lies between
artist and consumer.
If the U.S. decides to shoot its own foot by thwarting new
industry, the rest of cyberspace will readily swoop in and satisfy
these needs.
In Canada we did something similar in the Sixties. Our prime
minister canceled the Avro Arrow program and it basically killed Canada's
extremely promising aviation industry. That jet could leave earth's
atmosphere! Technology is really only catching up with it now. The
old tried to stop times from changing, and the whole country paid
the price.
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"This
was a sad day for me..."
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 I
just found out one of my favorite radio stations stopped steaming
yesterday, WRSI.
This was a sad day for me. Great station playing music other
stations would not. They said the reason was RIAA. I hope they can
work in out in the future to start streaming again.
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 From
The Onion: "If, like me, you're among the thinking
few, you're pretty disgusted with what passes for radio these days.
Turn anywhere on your FM dial, and you're likely to hear the sound
of some enormous multinational media conglomerate anesthetizing the
masses with its spoon-fed pabulum. From Hot 96 to Z-104, these stations
are all the same: prepackaged, focus-grouped DJs selling a bill of
false goods to lobotomized teens who don't know the difference between
revolution and repetition. Even noncommercial, so-called "public"
radio is just a cog in the Great American Money Machine.
"Well, I, for one, have had enough. It's time to shake
up the status quo and put a little fear in the heart of the Establishment.
Yes, consider this an official declaration of war: Look out, Corporate
America, here comes my pirate radio station!
"Last Friday, Radio Free Tate, the city's first and only
broadcast forum for the disenfranchised voices of the country, went
on the air. Located
somewhere between 89.5 and 91.3 FM, Radio Free Tate is going to let
corporate America have it with both barrels: the truths they're afraid
to say and the songs they're afraid to play...
"A bunch of my friends have already said that when they're
in my neighborhood, they keep their radios tuned to Radio Free Tate.
You're probably thinking they're just saying that because they're
my friends, but they're not. Where else are they
going to hear Black Flag's 'TV
Party' followed by a scathing anti-PepsiCo editorial followed by Gang
Of Four's 'Guns Before Butter?' On K-Rock? I think not...
"I'd encourage all of you to tune in to Radio Free Tate.
Like I said, it's somewhere between 89.5 and 91.3 on your radio dial—depending
on which side of Maplewood Street you're on. Before long, you'll be
able to find our listening area simply by paying attention to who
suddenly goes through a political revival. They'll start using less,
caring more, and voting with their hearts and minds rather than their
wallets. And they'll be listening to the best mix of music you won't
hear anywhere else. Find that neighborhood, and you've found Radio
Free Tate."
Read this editorial in the latest issue of The Onion,
or online
here. |
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| May 29-31, 2002 |
Emerging
Artists and Technology in Music: Las Vegas, NV |
| June 13-15, 2002 |
R&R
Convention 2002: Beverly Hills, CA |
| July 8-9, 2002 |
PLUG.IN:
Jupiter Music Forum: New York, NY |
| July 25-28, 2002 |
The
Conclave 2002 Learning Conference: Minneapolis, MN |
| Sept. 12-14, 2002 |
NAB
Radio Show 2002: Seattle, WA |
| Oct. 1-4, 2002 |
Streaming
Media East: New York, NY |
| Oct. 30-Nov. 2,
2002 |
CMJ
Music Marathon 2002: New York, NY |
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