From SiliconValley.Internet.com: "It was only a matter of time before congressionally imposed royalty fees for Internet radio webcasters flushed out the little guys and paved the way for big media conglomerates.

"After awaiting their fate since June, 2002, when the Librarian of Congress handed down a retroactive royalty fee structure of 0.07 cents per listener per song, it is now up to the Recording Industry Association of America to compromise its hard-line stance and offer a reduced licensing fee.

"More likely than that happening, droves of small Internet radio stations will be wiped off the cyber map in coming months under the weight of millions of dollars in back royalty payments, and only the wealthy, conglomerate-backed music providers like Microsoft's Windowsmedia.com, ClearChannel, AOL's Netscape radio site, MusicMatch, and Yahoo!'s Launchcast will dominate the playing field.

"In keeping with the rapid changes and consolidation occurring in the digital radio space, Vivendi Universal Net USA (VUNet USA) and Radio Free Virgin, part of the Virgin Group, inked a partnership Monday to launch customized radio channels on several of VUNet USA's music network properties...

"VUNet USA's network of online music and mobile media properties include RollingStone.com, EMusic.com, TruSONIC.com, GetMusic.com, and MP3.com, which Vivendi purchased in 2001 for $370 million. VUNet USA's deal with Radio Free Virgin marks the company's first foray into the Internet radio space...

"'After evaluating the services in the field, we consider Radio Free Virgin to have the highest quality radio programming in the industry, a quality that we look forward to delivering to our fan base,' said Derrick Oien, president of VUNet USA's music and media group. 'Internet radio is one of our users' most requested features.'"

Read this entire story from SiliconValley.Internet.com here. RollingStone.com's Net radio service was formerly powered by the now-defunct Chicago-based Radiowave.com.

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From a Loudeye press release: "Loudeye Corp., a leading provider of Webcasting, radio and digital media services, introduced Loudeye Radio V2.0, which provides complete and affordable private-labeled support for radio stations rebroadcasting terrestrial signals online.

"New features include a plug-and-play encoder, peer-to-peer (P2P) streaming options from ChainCast Networks, dynamic ad insertion capabilities for AFTRA (The American Federation of Television and Radio Artists) ad replacement, robust reporting functions and a station branded player interface...

"'Loudeye’s rebroadcasting services directly touch the important factors in the distribution of radio programming online,' said John Meyer, brand manager at Bonneville DC Radio Group. 'Our Internet radio interface, developed by Loudeye, reflects our brand, messaging and interests and, unlike other companies, doesn’t serve as an advertising hub for the hosting company...'

"Loudeye Radio V2.0 is available immediately. Pricing is determined by feature selections and usage."

The screenshot in the upper right is the Loudeye player for Bonneville Classical WGMS-FM/Washington. Loudeye CTO Joel McConaughy (pictured) demonstrated the player for RAIN publisher Kurt Hanson at last week's NAB.

From the New York Times: "When Richard D. Parsons, the chief executive of AOL Time Warner, talks about the company's prospects for its high-speed Internet service, he suggests simply that the company has to treat America Online like its pay cable network, HBO.

"It is meant to reassure investors, who have seen AOL Time Warner transform HBO from a package of second-run movies to some of the hottest original programming on television...

"But the concept could be a bit unsettling to Lisa A. Hook, the president of the company's small broadband unit, who was given more prominence in the reorganization of America Online last week. She is being asked, in effect, to win the equivalent of a dozen Emmys, right now, in a field so new the award categories have yet to be defined...

"Some of the fruits of Ms. Hook's labor will first be seen next month when AOL introduces its new 8.0 version of its software. The system will have a host of new features only available to broadband users, like a high-quality Internet radio service."

Read this entire article from the New York Times online here.