Radio News You Can't Use

I apologize, it's been far too long since I've used this blog to geek out on radio news. A few recent happenings have drawn me out of this whole "working in radio" thing and into talking smack about it on the internet for a few minutes!

First up: Webcasting Royalties
In case you haven't heard, webcasters and SoundExchange (the web streaming arm of the RIAA) have renegotiated terms for webcasting royalties. Instead of accepting SoundExchange's initial offer of web performance royalty rates that would surely put webcasters out of business, webcasters threw a fit (we were part of the fit), held rounds and rounds of negotiations, and over a year later accepted a new rate scheme that would only nearly put them out of business. These new terms, which for large webcasters is a minimum of 25% of annual revenue, have been lauded by some. However, if you look at typical performance royalty rates for satellite radio (6.5% in 2009), or ASCAP/BMI royalties for terrestrial radio (roughly 1 - 3%), that 25% figure starts to look bloated. Luckily for WFMU, NFCB and CPB made separate negotiations with SoundExhange including more affordable rates, and we are covered under these terms.

New FCC Chair
The Obama administration's nominee for FCC Chair, Julius Genachowski, was recently confirmed by the Senate. After outgoing FCC Chair Kevin Martin thoroughly angered congress and the public with scandalous antics like that Details magazine spread, relaxing media consolidation rules, and "losing" an important study on media ownership (and all the while leading the fight against broadcast indecency) Genachowski has some mopping up to do. The good news is, Genachowski has heard of the internet: he believes in net neutrality and might actually re-do the FCC's website to make it a little less 1996ish (more on the Genachowski team here). The bad news is, Genachowski leans towards the gestapistic view of broadcast indecency (he supports enforcing fines for fleeting profanity), and the FCC's main proponent of 1st Amendment protections, Jonathan Adelstein, will be leaving the commission soon.

Comments

[Listener Ralphine]

Gestapistic? As in the Gestapo? I believe that you have coined a new adjective, even if I'm not sure what it means.

[Larry In Seattle]

You forgot to mention the FM translators for AM stations (not the various full power FM stations simulcasting or in some cases like WTOP in Washington D.C. or KIRO in Seattle, replacing their longtime AM radio frequencies with FM signals.) these are usually for smaller AM stations with graveyard or lousy nighttime AM signals. I don't think WFMU has anything to worry about because of it's non commercial spot on the dial (the bigger problems between 88-92 MHz are these religious radio bandwith hogs operating under names like "K-Love", "Air 1", "CSN" or "The Effect", etc....Sure would like to see something done about them by the new FCC chairman. But I doubt it.....)

[Dale]

Not really related (though sort of is), but I had to drive to the Buffalo area for a funeral last week. In the rush to pack we forgot the iPod doodad. The trip across Rte 17 (Future 86!) was unbearable - I heard enough "classic rock" (Foreigner, Rolling Stones, Journey), Country & Western (or what passes for it today) and religious broadcasting to last me a lifetime. WFMU, keep on making the dial an interesting place to visit. It's definitely worth what I can afford to donate each year.