RIAA seeks to restrict recording from radio

[Drakonix]

Apparently emboldened by recent court rulings, the RIAA now wants to control the way you can record off public broadcast radio, even though a 1992 law guarantees a right to make such recordings.

The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) has seen
the future of radio. And it would prefer to live in the past.

Digital broadcast radio is a standard for transmitting digital
stations on existing analog radio bands. Known somewhat
misleadingly as "HD radio" (the audio quality is about the
same as analog FM), its adoption is giving tech companies a
chance to experiment and innovate in the world of consumer
radio.

TiVo-like functionality could be built into your digital
receiver, letting you automatically build playlists and skip
across channels based on your personal tastes.
Computer-operated radio cards could be enhanced with new
features using the standard's metadata. Tomorrow's tinkerers
could give us new ways to enjoy radio, just as the engineers
who brought us VCRs helped transform the way we watch TV.

As Mitch Bainwol, chairman of RIAA says, radio has a chance to
become active, not passive, entertainment.

But when he and the RIAA say that, they don't say it like it's
a good thing.

Last week, with a coalition of copyright holders, the RIAA
sent messages to members of Congress requesting that the FCC
be given new powers to hobble digital radios so they perform
worse than the analog radios of yesteryear.

According to the RIAA, you should be able to record off the
radio, but only subject to their "usage rules":

* recordings must be for no less than 30 minutes;

* recordings cannot be divided into individual songs, nor
will you be allowed to jump between songs;

* recordings must be encrypted and locked to the individual
recording device (no transfers to your iPod!);

* recordings can only be triggered by a human pressing a"record" button or by pre-programmed date-and-time (like
your old VCR!), which means no smart metadata driven features
like TiVo's "Wishlist."

In other words, the RIAA wants to micromanage how you record
off the radio!

The most amazing thing about this? There is nothing illegal
about recording from digital radio. Congress specifically gave
radio fans the right to record off the radio (including
digital radio) in the 1992 Audio Home Recording Act (AHRA).

That law also gave innovators the right to build digital radio
recorders (including smart digital radio recorders) without
fear of copyright liability. There is nothing in that law that
says the recorders have to be made artificially stupid by FCC
regulation.

Don't let Congress turn back the dial on digital radio. Write
now, and let your representative know that the RIAA is out of
line.

From EFF Newsletter: EFFector Vol. 18, No. 31 September 15, 2005