Thanks to all the fine companies (including those listed below) who agreed to be part of our recent "RAIN Vendor Guide (Ver. 2.0)" issue. If you didn't have a chance to spend time with it yet, you can access the issue here.

From CNet News.com: "Legislators are readying a bill that could sharply limit Americans' rights relating to copying music, taping TV shows, and transferring files through the Internet.

"At the same time, the draft legislation seen by CNET News.com would place the struggling Webcasting industry on firmer legal footing.

"Two key House legislators wrote the double-edged proposal in consultation with the Library of Congress' Copyright Office. They appear likely to introduce it this month...

"Reps. Howard Coble of North Carolina [pictured right] and Howard Berman of California [left], who authored the draft, say their proposed changes to copyright law follow suggestions made last August by the Copyright Office...

"A...section of the draft would give a minor boost to Webcasters by saying they're off the hook for temporary copies, called cached or buffered copies, made while streaming music to listeners. To qualify, a Webcaster must be licensed by an agency such as ASCAP and must ink an agreement with the record labels.

"According to the draft bill, such Webcasting 'is not an infringement of copyright' -- if temporary copies are made only to facilitate music distribution and if the copies are stored only for a time that's necessary for the broadcast.

"Critics of the measure said it would address a significant issue in how copyright law is applied to Webcasting. They noted, however, that it leaves some loopholes and ignores more pressing licensing issues threatening the industry, such as a recently proposed royalty scheme that some Net radio broadcasters say will put them out of business.

"'Exempting Webcasters' buffer copies from royalty obligations (is) the right thing to do -- but almost meaningless given that, absent quick congressional action, the royalty scheme recently adopted by the Library of Congress will shut down most Webcasters the day it takes effect,' said Philip Corwin, a lobbyist at Butera and Andrews representing Sharman Networks, which distributes the Kazaa file-sharing software."

Read this entire CNet story here.

The U.S. Copyright Office has published in the Federal Register their full final rule and order on webcasting royalty rates. The document sheds quite a bit of light on the reasoning used by the Register of Copyrights and the Librarian of Congress in their decisions. Please see the document online here, and then look for analysis soon in RAIN. Thanks.

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LMiV and First MediaWorks have formed what the two firms as calling an "Alliance of Leaders" -- a partnership to market and sell LMiV’s website content “channels” to radio stations across North America.

The alliance has begun work on two station sites: Entercom CHR WXSS/Milwaukee (screenshot at right) and ABC Classic Rock KQRS/Minneapolis (below).

LMiV is the independent Internet media initiative formed by broadcasting companies Bonneville International, Corus Entertainment, Emmis Communications, Entercom Communications, and Jefferson-Pilot. Among other things, the organization pools content resources for shared use across the companies' stations' sites -- enabling them to present richer and more extensive online content than they'd be able to working on their own.

The "content channels" include news, music and artists, movies, sports, employment, automotive and travel areas. LMiV stations also contribute their own content to the "shared pool." Then, the channels are designed to be format-specific and adaptable to the individual stations' sites.

LMiV acquires content from providers like AccuWeather, Acxiom, Associated Press, Canadian Press, Hollywood.com, MapQuest, Muze, MediaSpan, MovieTickets.com, RollingStone.com, Screaming Media, Autoworld.com, FMiTV, and The Sports Network.

First MediaWorks provides Internet marketing products, training, and consulting services to the radio industry.

The agreement also makes First MediaWorks a "preferred provider" of tech services like website design, hosting, and database management for LMiV stations. First MediaWorks already handles the e-mail and database functions of LMiV’s loyalty program, the Digital Station Listener Club.

Susquehanna Radio has unveiled its new listener database system by adding the feature to several of its stations' websites.

The "Listener Relationship Management" (LRM) system was developed by Susquehanna Technologies, or SusQTech, the technology company of the Susquehanna Pfaltzgraff family.

The LRM is used for station "loyalty" programs for which listeners register for the opportunity to win special prizes, for access to exclusive deals, and so on. The LRM gathers listeners information into a manageable and scalable database that can be used station- and company-wide. (We were unable to register at the company's KDBN/Dallas "93.3 The Bone" with the username "RAINEditor," apparently since moments earlier we used that name to register at KCFX/Kansas City "The Fox.")

Senior vice president/general manager of group operations Dan Halyburton, in a company press release, said "This implementation is a major step for our organization...It will provide for us a better method to manage the relationships with our listeners, and will generate more revenue opportunities."

The goal of the system was to consolidate the 2 million listener records the various stations had collected. With the new system, Susquehanna stations can now more easily create and administer on-air and on-site contests.

The other stations that now have the LRM system on their sites are WWWQ/Atlanta, KPLX, KTCK, and KLIF in Dallas/Ft.Worth, and KCMO-FM and KCMO-AM in Kansas City. 21 stations are slated to eventually feature the LRM tool.

Susquehanna Radio Corp. owns and/or operates a total of 21 FM and 11 AM stations.

"Paranoia does not guarantee survival..."

I enjoy your site. I'm merely an interested consumer -- not a business insider.

In his article for Newsweek, Steven Levy [see RAIN story here] says John Simson of SoundExchange "says there's no evidence that Internet radio boosts record sales."

You might want to do a future column on Bruce Brodeen, who runs the NotLame record company. Bruce has told me he's starting his own Internet radio station to promote the power pop artists distributed by his company (probably around 200 bands, starting with those released by his own label. Incidentally, he hates the RIAA).

I think I'm a good example of how Internet radio stimulates music sales. I'm 37 years old and I work out of my basement. I've purchased more than 150 CDs since I discovered Internet radio last September (primarily a couple of Live365 stations, www.powerpopradio.com and www.popbang.com). My wife thinks I'm deranged.

I take a lot of chances. For me, buying music is like renting videos; I buy something used for $7, and if I don't like it I can resell it on Half.com for $5. I'll gamble $2 to discover something new and cool. I keep about half of what I buy.

I'm sure the RIAA would object. If I remember right, several years ago they tried to force the Wherehouse chain to stop selling used CDs. "You sell used CDs? Sorry, you don't get the new Garth Brooks album."

But when I discover an artist I really like, I'll buy the new release as soon as it comes out. I can't wait for new stuff from Jason Falkner, Sugarbomb, Cherry Twister, Sloan, Apples In Stereo and Moxy Fruvous. Ever hear of any of them, let alone hear them on commercial radio?

Profits aren't guaranteed for any industry. Economic Darwinism is a fundamental principle of capitalism. Inefficient businesses die. The survivors adapt, reinvent and grow.

The RIAA is placing all its eggs in its payola-centric business model. Why doesn't it focus on providing innovative products that consumers want? Why not market downloaded singles for $1.50 instead of charging $17 for a greatest hits album nobody buys?

IBM once ruled the computing world. But it (largely) missed the PC revolution. IBM focused on selling big systems it understood, instead of providing the desktop systems everybody wanted.

Andy Grove of Intel said only the paranoid survive. But paranoia does not guarantee survival. The RIAA seems likely to learn that lesson the hard way.

Here is a growing list of webcasters who, because they don't feel they can manage webcasting royalties in a viable business, have decided that it's in their best interests to silence their streams. (We thank them for their hard work and dedication to their audiences and the industry, and wish them luck in their future endeavors...)
3FM/Netherlands	All80s.com	AudioCandy.com
BlueMars.org	Celtic Heritage Webradio	Chez Whitey
Entercom stations	Good Time Oldies Radio	Greater Media stations
GrrlRadio	HitRadio.biz	Hot Hit Radio
IdahosCast.com	KDFC/San Francisco	KKDV/San Francisco
KOIT/San Francisco	KTRS/St. Louis	Lotus Radio stations
McClure stations	MonkeyRadio.org	MYNDFK.com
NetRockRadio.com	NextMedia stations	Perkigoth.com
Powerrocks.com	Progrock.com	Radio1/Netherlands
RadioCentral.com	Radio Free Akron	Radio Free BD
Radio Free Tiny Pineapple	RadioMaxMusic
RKNA: Aural Arcana	SavageRockRadio.com	Simmons Media stations
SomaFM.com	StarDogRadio.com	TagsTrance.com
The City Radio	therockfm.com	The Zoo
WAAF/Worchester	WMMR/Philadelphia	WOVRadio.com
XTC Radio	Yahoo! Radio stations
Have we missed others? Use the feedback form above or e-mail us here.