Small Webcasters get Powerful New Ally 362
An anonymous reader writes "On, Sunday, October 20, 2002, the RIAA's subsidiary, SoundExchange, was set to introduce draconian new fees on small internet webcasters - fees that were designed to drive those webcasters out of business and preserve the RIAA's monopoly on the distribution of music in North America. One of those small webcasters is the Triangle's classical music station, WCPE - quite possibly the finest classical music station in the world. Now it turns out that WCPE has an 800 lb gorilla in their corner, and he's set his sights on the RIAA."
Huh? (Score:2, Interesting)
"Sen. Jesse Helms, a North Carolina Republican, on Thursday night blocked legislation designed to ease the financial impact on small Webcasters."
Does someone "in the know" want to clarify? Please?
Goodbye trance stations... (Score:5, Interesting)
Somebody please explain (Score:3, Interesting)
If I am an independent musician, can't I just make a deal with a local webcaster at a rate that we negotiate?
Does anybody know?
Tor
Stations (Score:3, Interesting)
Philosomatika [philosomatika.com]
FlareSound [flaresound.com]
Link it
Love it
Don't forget to email your congressmen
Who obvious has a filter set up to delete emails from constituents.
Re:Duh, I don't get it... (Score:5, Interesting)
He's supposed to represent NC, not Hollywood (Score:5, Interesting)
that he is doing exactly what he should do as a
senator for North Carolina. He's representing the
interests of the state's residents in the Senate,
vs. representing the interests of an out of state
campaign donor.
How many states stand to gain under the webcasting
rates as approved in the House? Will there be a lot
of new jobs pursuing small webcasters who haven't
paid up? Will there be a lot of new technical skills
dispersed through the population by reducing the
number of webcasters through expensive licensing
and/or royalies fees? Will there be a boom in artisic
expression thanks to reduced chances for artists to
gain exposure?
Helms is right on this one. I wish more legislators
were looking out for their own constituencies on
matters like this, DMCA, etc.
Helms and NC (Score:3, Interesting)
The real question is... Why are Rep. Howard Coble (Also North Carolina - R) and Sen. Ernest Hollings (South Carolina - D) not doing the same thing?
Hmm, classical music (Score:4, Interesting)
What about my own content? (Score:2, Interesting)
Any insights would be greatly appreciated...
De-obfuscating yahoo.. (Score:2, Interesting)
For some insight into the bill and why it's bad, read this slashdot story [slashdot.org].
I agree that the Yahoo story is confusing, and it gives one pause to wonder why they're spinning it as bad for webcasters. Is there some hidden agenda?
Disagree (Score:5, Interesting)
Granted, classical isn't usually that popular with the under-30 crowd (generalization). But it's been constantly popular with the elderly for the past three or four generations - and those aren't the same elderly, because OLD PEOPLE DIE. However, new ones are always cropping up to take their place. You can usually tell them by the Oldsmobiles with the stuffed animals in the back.
Re:Its Their Music... (Score:1, Interesting)
umm, how about the fact that almost all music is released by companies belonging to the RIAA ?
I'm not sure everyone wants to hear predominantly garage/club music. There's a good reason why a lot of it (not all though) remains there.
Re:Since when has Helms done anything FOR the peop (Score:3, Interesting)
Helms has stayed on office for this long for ONE very simple reason: He's pro-tobacco, and tobacco farmers in NC are almost "activists" when it comes to keeping their interests represented in the government, around here. If the tobacco market collapses, the ones who can't effectively change to another cash crop will be out of business, and most such farms are family affairs.
Helms' approach wouldn't work, except most other people seem too apathetic to bother voting someone else in; so, while people complain about it, they don't DO anything about it, but that's the way the cookie crumbles.
I'm looking forward to this year's election: A woman from out of state on one side, and a Democrat on the other -- talk about a dilemma!
The Helms Era is finally ending, and at least some folks are going to celebrate.
Xentax
Prohibit USA listening? (Score:2, Interesting)
yay free market liberalism (Score:4, Interesting)
Re:Contribution examination (Score:2, Interesting)
To contrast the republican party has figured out a strategy that actually causes economic growth. The first step is balancing the budget or generating surpluses. There are three ways to do that, cutting defense/infrastructure spending( some call this corporate welfare, and done improperly, it is), cutting social spending, or raising taxes. None of the options look particularly good but by cost/benefit analysis, social programs are not as necesary for sustained economic growth, if the other two have their desired effects. Lower taxes or spending on useful projects (research, road development, arpanet) stimulates business growth, increasing employment. Employment means more money for goods consumption by the populus, leading to further employment and a good healthy economy, increasing revenue into the treasury despite a lower tax rate. If surpluses are present, they can be turned around into social spending/more frivilous expenses (performing arts, national parks).
That's how "Reganomics" or "Trickle-Down Economics" is supposed to work, unfortunately, the only modern experiment in it was corrupted on two fronts, with both sides blaming the other. Regan had a grudge against the Soviet Union, spiralling defense spending out of proportion (corporate welfare) in hopes of starving out their capabilities of production. Democrats held on to their Social Security and other welfare programs because they controlled congress. With those two chewing a greater and greater federal debt every year. Late 1987, the economy went through a cyclic dip, similar to the one that we are in now, but as a result of high debt rates, people weren't able to weather the storm. Bush I made an additional mistake in 1990 by compounding the problem with a tax hike in the 1990 budget bill. This kept the economy from rising back up. After the republicans took congress in 94, they attempted to restart the experiment, producing a budget surplus, but the bubble burst in 2000-2001 and 9/11 put unique pressures on the economy. Assuming a republican senate take over, the experiment might be able to run from start to finish of an economic cycle, proving or disporving its viability as an economic model