A Fee Per Song Can Ruin Us, Internet Radio Companies Say (NY Times)
Money Shot: "Internet radio operators also say it would not be in the interest of labels to stifle a business that is paying them fees to use their music, especially at a time of declining CD sales.
“That’s counterproductive to the copyright holders,” said Terry McBride, chief executive of the Nettwerk Music Group, a label and artist-management company, adding that the ruling could be bad for performers whose music would not be played on conventional radio."
NPR Starts A War (MediaLoper)
MS: Making it worse, traditional exceptions for entities such as public radio are all but erased. That’s where National Public Radio comes in. The cost to NPR to play music will increase substantially. The costs to your local public radio station — those entities who are always begging for cash as it is — will increase substantially. Given the economics of the situation, it makes sense that if this ruling stands, these stations will chose to change their business models. Right now, they’re actively increasing audiences by streaming and podcasting and broadcasting online. That’s going to stop if the cost goes up.
Faces Of The RIAA (The Consumerist)
MS: We've received a lot of requests to "expose" the RIAA for who they really are... record companies and record company executives. Our readers feel that the companies involved are hiding behind the name "RIAA," and would like to be formally introduced to the association's members.
Few Tune In To Web DJ's (L.A. Times)
MS: In the Internet age, anyone can be a guerrilla disc jockey. Tens of thousands of radio shows air regularly on the Web, often with audiences whose numbers could fit around a dining room table. Virtually every musical niche is represented. Mike Konvicka, a music critic in Texas, has a Czech polka show. Another site serves up only versions of "Ave Maria." A German online deejay does on-air karaoke.
Elvis Costello Albums Reborn Via Universal (Billboard)
MS: In addition, Universal has created two new compilations with track listings supervised by Costello himself. "The Best of Elvis Costello -- The First 10 Years" rounds up 22 songs from the period, including classics such as "Watching the Detectives," "Pump It Up," "Clubland," "Man Out of Time" and "Oliver's Army."
The second album, "Rock and Roll Music," is meant to showcase the more up-tempo side of Costello's oeuvre, from "No Action" and "Lipstick Vogue" to live versions of "Mystery Dance" and "You Belong to Me." Two previously unreleased tracks, an alternate version of "Honey, Are You Straight or Are You Blind?" and a demo of "Welcome to the Working Week," are also included.
Indie Rock Act Tapes Game For Innovative Tie-Ins (Yahoo News)
MS: Indie rock act Tapes 'N Tapes has scored a home run with 2K Sports. Not only has the Minneapolis-based outfit landed its song "Insistor" on the soundtrack to the new "Major League Baseball 2K7" video game, but 2K Sports will also sponsor the band's upcoming tour, which hits 400- to 1,100-capacity venues across North America this spring.
Dinosaur Jr. Returns From 'Beyond' (LiveDaily.com)
MS: The power trio's unlikely reunion will hit nightclubs across the continent during the last half of May and the beginning of June, kicking off May 10 in San Diego. (Although the opening date is being billed as "J Mascis and Friends," the lineup will consist of the same lineup that will play the remainder of the tour--namely, the original members of Dinosaur Jr.: singer/guitarist Mascis, bassist Lou Barlow and drummer Murph.)
The Fate Of Indie Music As We Know It (Salon)
MS: Should the CRB, SoundExchange and webcasters fail to agree on a compromise, the CRB's ruling may be remembered as a kind of Pyrrhic victory in which SoundExchange won the battle over webcasting royalties, but lost the war for the next generation of music listeners by snuffing out Internet radio. And there's another danger for artists and even SoundExchange itself, said Oxenford: "If you end up pushing out all the folks who are legally operating Internet radio because it's not an effective business model for ad-supported music, then the only ad-supported Internet radio that will exist will be the pirates. And they don't pay royalties."
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