the new bill delays for months (june, '03) any royalties that netcasters must submit, money that would've been due about now and that's the biggest factor in their "stunning victory" - but the money still has to be paid and that's what's wrong with the whole thing. radio is radio, on the net or over the air (or on the net/over the air - the next phase). am, fm or pcm, breaking it up into separately regulated chunks based on some record peddlers' definitions is not the way to grow this important new medium. over the air analog broadcasters don’t pay and neither should netcasters. anyway the rain guys who think they speak for larger outlets (stations like radio paradise etc) knew those owners were terrified their stations would be on the hook next month for hundreds of thousands of dollars in back fees (a sobering thought to be sure and they’ve got my sympathies), so needless to say they're ecstatic over the fee suspensions. but acceptance of the fundamental argument underlying this agreement has crippled the young medium of webcasting and nothing in this so-called victory changes any of that. when 8-12 percent of your REVENUES(!) – not profits - goes to the riaa while your over the air competition gets to keep theirs makes it all but impossible to compete effectively. the concept alone is absurd and must now be tossed out by the courts as discriminatory. the rest of the stuff about non-profit definitions and the ability to make side-deals w/soundexchange are relatively minor bones the riaa threw in to appear to be reasonable. it's an old negotiating ploy. ask for something outrageous like the moon and don't back down – ever – no matter how many awful names you’re called. then at the eleventh hour give back a small piece of cheese and watch everyone say how swell you are while they blindly ignore the facts that both of your hands are in their pockets, that they’re under your control and that they will be forever in your debt. the people in congress are assh@les.
- js.
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