The View from Paradise
In Internet radio, RIAA | 301 comments | permalink
I’m Bill Goldsmith, and my wife Rebecca and I have spent the last seven years of our lives pouring our hearts, minds, and financial resources into Radio Paradise. We are now faced with the very real possibility that all of our efforts will have been in vain, and that the thousands of people who are devoted listeners to our station will have it snatched out of their lives.
I have been in love with radio all of my life, and spent 30-odd years dealing with the conflict between my vision of radio as an art form and my FM-station employers’ vision of radio as a conduit for advertising. I have watched the medium that I love turn from an essential part of the process of connecting those who love making music with those whose lives are touched by it into a mindless background hum of advertising and disposable musical sludge.
With the advent of the Internet, we were finally able to bring to life the radio station I had always wanted to work for (and listen to): commercial-free, passionate, and embracing a wide universe of musical treasures, from the classic rock artists I grew up with to the latest indie discoveries, with a liberal sprinkling of world music, electronica, jazz, even classical. We have slowly built up a loyal audience and have been able to support ourselves while living our dream.
An Exciting - But Fragile - New Era for Radio
The Internet has changed radio in a profound way. Instead of a business that required investments so huge (millions of dollars for even a small-market FM station) that a programming focus on the lowest common denominator and an extreme aversion to risk or experimentation was an unavoidable consequence, a radio station with a global reach was now within the grasp of anyone with the talent and determination to make it happen.
Every day we hear from listeners who are profoundly touched by our efforts - by the music we play, by the way we assemble the songs into meaningful sequences that are more than the sum of their parts, by our passion for what we are doing, and our commitment to never contaminating the music with advertising. And our station is but one of many who have attracted that kind of passionate following, and provided that kind of outlet for radio artists like myself.
The Internet’s paradigm-shifting gift to radio programmers and music lovers - at least those in the US - is now in danger of being taken away by the misguided actions of the US Copyright Board. The performance royalty rates released by the Copyright Board on March 1, 2007 are not just extreme, not just burdensome. They are a death sentence for all US-based independent webcasters like Radio Paradise, SOMA-FM, Digitally Imported, and many others.
The facts and figures of the new rates are detailed in Kurt Hanson’s newsletter for 3/2/07. Kurt’s analysis of the financial impact of the new rates is entirely accurate, and chilling.
The Artificial Analog vs. Digital Divide
There has been much discussion about how unfair these rates are, but our listeners find one fact particularly appalling: while Internet stations like ours are being told they must pay royalty fees that exceed their income, sometimes by several times over, FM stations - including those owned by media conglomerates like Clear Channel - pay nothing at all!
Yes, both FM stations and Internet stations pay royalties to songwriters and/or music publishers. But the royalties in question are owed to the owners of performance copyrights, which means, in most cases, record companies - and to them, FM stations pay nothing at all.
How is it possible for such a massive disparity to exist? For the answer to that we need to go back to the 1990s, when music industry lobbyists persuaded Congress to include wording in two pieces of legislation (the Digital Performance Right in Sound Recordings Act of 1995 and the Digital Millennium Copyright Act of 1998) that drew a sharp division between analog and digital broadcasts. Their reasoning was that a digital radio transmission was not a radio broadcast at all, but a sequence of perfect digital copies of music performances provided to the user, who could then copy them rather than paying to own a CD.
This is a profoundly flawed piece of reasoning, but members of Congress (who at that time had no idea how this whole digital thing worked) accepted it at face value, and agreed that it was only fair that digital broadcasts be subject to additional copyright fees, to be determined by an impartial (in theory…) ruling by the Copyright Office.
Let’s Get Real About This
Let’s reassess that reasoning in the light of 21st-century reality. Is there, in truth, a fundamental difference in the experience of an online listener to Radio Paradise and someone who was listening to identical programming on an FM station? Every one of our listeners - indeed, anyone who has ever clicked on a webcast as background music while working - knows the answer to that question. No! There is no difference whatsoever. Radio is radio, whether it comes in digital or analog form.
As for the recording angle, I would challenge any random group of RIAA lawyers, copyright judges, or members of Congress to listen to a digital recording of our radio station and a high-quality cassette recording of an analog FM station and tell which was which. I guarantee that they could not. The differences in quality are too subtle for all but the most discerning listener to notice.
The quality jump between AM and FM broadcasts was an order of magnitude more significant, yet the music industry managed to thrive their way through that transition. The advent of decent-quality cassette recorders in the 70s, coupled with stereo FM broadcasting, made it possible for anyone who wanted to to make copies of their favorite songs from the radio, with a quality not too different from the analog LPs sold at the time. Did that spell a death-knell for the music industry? Not hardly. The 70s and 80s saw a phenomenal growth in the sales of LPs and, later, CDs.
Ah, but the music industry thought that home music recording would destroy their sales, and lobbied unsuccessfully in the 1970s to cripple that technology. The same fear-based and misguided reasoning popped up again in the 90s, with the advent of digital recording and broadcasting, and this time the industry - flush with dollars earned after their earlier fears were proved groundless - succeeded in this attempt to preserve their bottom line at the expense of, well, pretty much every one else.
A Grave Disservice to The Public
Crippling an exciting, groundbreaking industry like Internet radio is certainly not in the best interests of the public, nor that of musical artists, and not even - if history is any judge - of the music industry itself. Just as they were unable to see how the advent of home music taping actually spurred the sale of LPs and CDs, they are unable to tell exactly what impact Internet radio and other forms of digital media will have on the future of their industry - and to behave as if they do know, and for Congress to go along with them, is a grave error, and public disservice, that needs to be recognized and corrected.
So, if we are building a business - even a non-commercial business like Radio Paradise - by the use of copyrighted material, isn’t it fair that we pay for its use? Perhaps it is. But the fact remains that what we are doing does not differ in any substantive way from what a company like Clear Channel is doing, and to move forward under the fiction that such a distinction exists is neither fair nor rational.
Perhaps the most equitable solution is for all broadcasters - analog or digital, terrestrial, satellite, or Internet - to pay such royalties equally, just as they all pay more or less equally for the use of music compositions. This is the situation in many other places in the world, including most of Europe. The fact that the US broadcasting lobby has successfully out-spent and out-maneuvered the music industry on this issue should not be “balanced” by Internet radio royalty rates so high that they cripple that entire industry.
That kind of reform will take some time - time that people like my wife and myself just don’t have. We are hoping that we can, along with a small group of other independent webcasters, negotiate a separate settlement with the RIAA, similar to the one we negotiated in 2002. That agreement allowed us to operate by paying a royalty equal to 10% - 12% of our gross income in performance royalties. That has been enough of a burden for a struggling “mom & pop” operation like ours, but it has allowed us to survive since that point. However, that agreement has expired, and we are now liable for royalties, retroactive to the beginning of 2006, that are equal to approximately 125% of our income.
Trust me, it has been difficult to write those checks knowing that the foundation that the entire royalty structure is based on is a lie. Perhaps we will succeed in negotiating a new deal with them. If we do, it will probably be at a significantly higher rate - creating even more of a burden on small businesses like ours.
My question is this: why should we continue to be penalized for the mistakes made by Congress back in the 1990s?
What’s The Solution
The truly fair solution is a moratorium on the collection of any fees and the imposition of any penalties until Congress has had the opportunity to revisit the decisions they made a decade ago, and see if there is not in truth a profound wrong that deserves to be righted.
We are at a fork in the road. Down one path is a radio universe populated entirely by large corporations, who can either afford the legal firepower necessary to negotiate a reasonable settlement with the music industry (such as the satellite radio companies have done) or can afford to offer Internet radio as a “loss leader” (as Yahoo and AOL do).
Down the other fork we are presented with a universe of choices, freely available to all, produced by people who truly love and value what they are doing - including user-programmed channels such as those offered by lala.com, “discovery” channels such as those available at Pandora, and who knows what else in the coming years. None of those choices are viable under the new rate structure, and that would be a tremendous loss for all involved.
Sphere It
Realmente lamentable. Nuevamente la corporación del dinero atenta el arte, la cultura, la musica. Cuan alejados de la democracia y la libertad. Apoyo total a Radio Paradise, la mejor radio de la internet. Desde Mexico.
Hi, I’m mari from the tropical north west of australia, and i stream www.radioparadise.com ( and have done for 15 months ) almost all of my free time ( which is a lot as i don’t work full time ) so taking away my joy, my xtc, my radioparadise and all that it means to me with the world family of listeners whom i chat freely whilst listenin’ to the most eclectic music on the planet, is like, well, cuttin’ off my ears. I can’t imagine what i’m gonna do without bill and rebecca who have become like my elder brother and sister over the long happy months of my membership, answerin’ questions and just replying personally to my excitable hellos and how are yaz, just like friends do. This decision of the riaa will affect millions of people around the planet who rely totally on internet stations like radioparadise for a joyful musical experience and at the same time putting dedicated musical aficionados like bill an’ rebecca out of business and therefore a livelihood. Sad daze!
I am one of the thousands of fervent, passionate and supportive members of RadioParadise.com. RP is not a convenience that would simply be missed were it to be submerged into oblivion by unreasonable corporate taxation without representation. RP, as with the whole concept of internet streaming radio, is the very cultural lifeblood of my days and nights. It is more than just music, it is a vehicle for the exchange of ideas, of expanding worldviews, diversifying belief systems and just plain fun!
Please, please,please…let us all do whatever can to address this crisis that is not just of our moment, but one whose outcome will set the course of the internet for generations to come.
~Jade Wah’oo Grigori
Ahh.
Bill, I have been a listener for a short time to Radio Paradise and a subscriber (meager pony; I’m English (living in Oregon), look it up). Radio Paradise is great and if I could get all the programming you provide at no cost it would be heaven. We don’t reside in heaven.
There is a balance that must be met. Afterall, you need income and so do recording artists and yes, the evil recording company. I need income. We all need income.
The dynamics of the situation are not black and white (we’ve had enough of that good and evil, with us or against us crap, surely?). Agreeing to arbitration necessarily gives away certain rights. That’s the idea. Crying foul after a decision that goes against you defeats its purpose.
I am still trying to collect my thoughts on this as I write.
As I see it, Clear Channel gets royalty free access to music because it provides an alternative for the record companies; free advertising. There’s a reason commercial radio (generally) sucks.
Sure you provide a service listeners want, but what about artists (no, I’m not one)?
Listening to the Kinks. Waterloo Sunset. Classic. Internet radio needs to provide a service to artists and record labels. Clear Channel is actually a model you should strive for. If you want to remain viable. It’s not a case of dumbing down, but if what you provide is so in demand SHOW ME THE MONEY. Sorry. That is probably copyrighted!
Seems to me the royalties are fair (I’m no expert here). Maybe your niche is promoting bands that need exposure. Heck, I new the Kinks back in ‘68. Do I still need to hear them? Introduce more diverse content.
We live a (money) market driven culture. The internet wild west is long gone. More like present day Dodge City (a real disappointment).
Hate me if you want.
Jef
I’m one of those people who has purchased literally thousands of cds over the years, replacing almost all of my vinyl records and discovering much new music. I got bored, and stopped buying until two year’s ago when I discovered RADIO PARADISE (directed there by a friend who happens to be a musician). In the past two years I have purchased many cds because I heard the artists on RADIO PARADISE - artists who I otherwise would never have heard. Go ahead record industry - shoot yourselves in the foot. We WILL find another way to keep great music alive. As a Canadian I don’t know if there’s much I can do to influence your laws but I would hate to lose RP - its a part of my life pretty much 24/7.
Bill,
Have you considered setting something up similar to http://www.letvafly.com/? They have a great little feature that let’s you type in your zipcode and it will automatically send an Email to all of your state, local and national government representatives. We need to start getting this in front of lawmakers!
-jim
End of Internet Radio?…
The US Copyright Royalty board has approved a per-performance royalty regime for internet streaming. Per-performance means they pay royalties for every _listener_ for each song they play, retroactive to 2006. This puts a far greater burden on internet …
Sorry, this may be a childish question, but why don’t you just move your serves outside of the United States where American copyright laws don’t have any effect? Sorry if it has already been answered but it seems like a decent idea to me.
Hey Bill,
I sincerely adore your radio station, and so am sad to hear this news. I know this is easier said than done, but have you thought about re-locating to Canada?
-bilbo.
I’ve had music in my life for as long as I can remember. I believe that music is essential to the human soul. While growing up, I listened to the radio just like any other kid. But one night my life was forever changed. For the first time in my life I heard an album called “The Dark Side of the Moon”. I never knew that such music existed.
From that point in time I have spent countless hours, and countless dollars discovering, purchasing and listening to this cutting-edge music that I previously never knew existed because the AM/FM radio stations simply didn’t play that kind of music.
In my youth I had the free time and the circle of friends at school to find good music by word of mouth. Once I was out of school, that network just faded away. The music that I heard on the radio was not at all interesting. But one day I discovered Radio Paradise. I was once more connected to a resource for finding new, exciting music.
Like many Radio Paradise listeners, I’m at a point in my life that I’m making a very comfortable income. I can afford to purchase the CD, even if I was not morally opposed to doing such things, my time is too valuable to waste on stealing music. I also demand the utmost in quality. No “lossy compression” MP3 stream will substitute for the full fidelity CD or music DVD.
I am happy to give right and just compensation to those who create, perform and bring me that content. I have spent many thousands of dollars lately, updating my CD collection with new music that I discovered through Internet radio, as well as acquiring new, remastered copies of albums which I already owned.
What I don’t understand is how the record industry plans on surviving. Sales are slipping, not because people are stealing their product, but because demand decreases when a $20 CD has only one good song on it. I fail to see how becoming more Draconian is going to save the bottom line.
Another thing that I don’t understand is why, with practically every AM, FM and TV broadcaster transmitting digital signals, that Internet radio is being singled out to penalize. That makes absolutely no sense.
Hi Bill and Rebecca
I’m so sorry to hear about your money-grabbing corporate-loving freedom-hating government in Downing Street …. ooops, that’s here in the UK. But, hey, it fits you guys too!.
I love RP. Do the bonzos at RIAA realise how many cd’s I’ve purchased because of your wonderfully eclectic playlists. And we all know what happens when the bigger corporations run the playlists.
I’m so sorry I can’t do anything from here in the UK. Or can I?
Bestest wishes to you both.
PS: Have the RIAA got their mean tentacles into offshore companies as well?
Oh this makes me really sad, and it makes me wonder why I haven’t sent my contributions yet….
Still, as I have a rather dark view of the “Free Market Forces” I must say that this death sentence has not been delivered before. Oh, it has, and the RIAA handed you the last straw. Let’s hope they do that again, but….
Anyway Bill Rebecca, let me thank you for all the good stuff that you have given us. Such a lot of great music that I otherwise never would have heard of. Such a true joy to submerge into your great playlists. Thanks!
Just to add my two penneth,i’m from Liverpool, England and i’ve been a listener to Radio Paradise for almost as long as its been running.
Its a marvelous, a place where people can go to let the troubles of the world fly by, a world whereby politics play no part. Or so I thought.
I would like to hope that common decency and good will to those who give up their lives for the enjoyment of others like Bill and Rebecca have done will win through and a middle ground can be formed for such a fantastic outlet of musicians performances as Radio Paradise is.
Paul Cunliffe
Southport, Liverpool, England.
The only way this absurdity can be changed is if WE THE PEOPLE bombard our members of Congress (Senate, House of Reps) with our outrage via emails & snail mails. If they receive thousands of complaints, they will take notice. Lots of them love music and are most likely unaware of web radio because they’re too busy trying to stay elected.
I fear my little web site on youtube will be crushed as well because it contains vintage music videos.
WAKE UP AMERICAN LISTENERS. EMAIL YOUR ELECTED OFFICIALS……TODAY.
POWER IS IN THE PEOPLE.
Bill/Rebecca, please write up a petition so we can copy/paste to them.
Chuck, a loyal listener and contributor
Jeff Fowler wrote: “As I see it, Clear Channel gets royalty free access to music because it provides an alternative for the record companies; free advertising. There’s a reason commercial radio (generally) sucks.”
Maybe this is not the place to discuss this, but I feel compelled to oppose Jeff’s statement above.
RP provides free advertising for record companies as much as CC does by playing the music. In addition RP does a much better job of identifying artists and songs (on-air mentions, mp3 stream title, and website play list) making it much easier than any CC station to find the artist purchase the whole album thereby generating revenue for the record labels.
Victor
I’m a former broadcaster who got out of the business and also gave up on listening to most conventional radio because of the reasons you made the move to the Internet. To put it simply, I was bored.
When I discovered Internet radio, I also rediscovered what had attracted me to the medium in the first place. For me, the fascination is in hearing new things and new sounds, not a repeat of the same tired list of commercially manufactured “hits” every few hours.
What’s most disturbing about how laws affecting Internet technologies are being made is that the legislators are almost entirely ignorant of even the basics of the technologies but can be tricked, coerced or schmoozed into voting for laws that are unfair and nonsensical on their face. Some of our legislator’s ignorance is so deep that they don’t even know how clueless they are…think of Ted Stevens’ “series of tubes.”
I’m beginning to believe the only hope of saving Internet Radio from becoming yet another dumbed-down advertising conduit would be a case fought through the federal courts where it would be possible to have experts in the technology appear as witnesses to point out the inequity of the current law.
R.
Jef - Even if they were to try to “show you the money” by making it a commercial station, the economics with the updated royalty rates do not make it viable.
Also see the part about terrestrial (FM) radio not paying performance royalties VS Internet radio paying them.
Bill & Rebecca - I am so happy you’ve been educating people about this issue. That’s huge!
Echoing nick’s comment. I’ve also posted this on the RP forum. Bill, would this be viable? The company set up in some Carrabean tax haven, or just about any other country in the world, and run it from a server there? You, as directors, can live where the heck you like!
In UK we would use Isle of Mann or Jersey, as just two examples.
This is like a re-run of the Pirate Radio - conglomerate industry confrontation in UK in the 60’s. The winning solution there was off-shore too.
BG replies:
We are open to the idea of moving our business out of the US, but would prefer to operate from home base here in California. We’re still hopeful that the US Congress will see the light and rectify this situation. But if they don’t we certainly don’t intend to give up our dream and do something drastic — like get real jobs…
[…] listen to Radio Paradise (though I know Mugs has before). But PLEASE take a minute to read this clearly articulated description of the crisis now facing all internet […]
Hi Bill and Rebecca.
I have been listener of your station for some time and its the best - nothing I can get over the FM does even get close. The general broadcast ether is filled with gruesome garbage of idiot-targeted ads and total lack of quality and imagination.
It is the same for TV but thats ok, I havent owned a TV set for whole adult part of my life and each time I see some my resolution to never have one just gets stronger. Im happier without it.
But I cannot live totally without music. Your station has been the answer.
I feel bad that I havent been able to send you as much support as you deserve. Bad times. But i want to have the possibility to do so in future.
As to how to save the station.. it will be hard. Some people just have too much money and care too little. Everyone reading this, please Digg this post (I made me digg account specially for it), its the easiest way to rise awareness at moment. Bill and Rebecca - if you need some extra funds to combat this evil, move/rescue servers etc, please set up a special targeted fund, link at your radio page and many of your listeners will donate generously.
In the end I think moving the servers/company outside of RIAA owned countries might be only solution..
Anything, just please dont give up. We are at your command and support when the hour comes.
Hi guys.
What a joke these rules are. I read your blog and it was very disheartening. What are the rules in different jurisdictions that aren’t governed by the US Copyright act? Is there a way around this short sighted decision? Good luck. Hopefully cooler heads will prevail.
The rate hike’s just one of many fronts: Let’s not forget
- The new SoundExchange reporting requirements that kicked in, and mandate stations have to report between 9 and 11 variables for every song they play.
- The rehashed PERFORM act (http://www.variety.com/article/VR1117957368.html?categoryid=18&cs=1) which would outlaw any non-DRM webstreaming like mp3, etc.
… and so on, and so on. It’s a blitzkreig attack: Even if you manage to quash one unrealistic demand, three more make it through, and Internet Radio loses no matter what.
So, thanks, soulless copyright-enforcement dipsh*ts, for doing your best to ruining yet another good thing.
I heard and agree with your position I think. U C I didn’t read all your message; it’s written for a yak audience.
To actually have an impact, consider taking a weed-whacker to your content and give us an executive summary. Use some bullets or the simpletons in Washington won’t be able to understand it and other bloggers don’t have anything to highlight with their comments.
Digg picked up on it so I’ll keep watching…
Wish u and all of us the best of luck.
MS2BU
This is devastating news. I’ve listened to Radio Paradise pretty much all day every day since I first discovered it in 2004. I have bought dozens of CDs as a result of discovering new artists on RP. If the music industry was just greedy, that would at least be understandable. What’s makes this hard is how mind-bogglingly stupid they are - do they really think that it’s in their interests to kill internet radio?
I CAN”T BELIEVE IT!!
I am in the same boat as many entering this discussion. I feel strongly enough to join an online discussion for the first time. We’ve got to get the word out on how to bring this change in law to an abrupt end. I, personally don’t know the answer but will sure be searching for one. BILL AND REBECCA, I’m officially joining the unnamed army to fight for you! I personally feel bad for never having the funds to donate to you, even though you’ve added a priceless amount of enjoyment to my life. Here is my ultimate donation: I will fight to the end to make sure the last seven years of your life have not been in vain!!!
**LONG LIVE RADIOPARADISE**
I once learned in a marketing class at University that, since the 1960s, marketing has supposedly become “consumer driven” and that companies realized it works better to develop a product/service that satisfies the consumer.
Obvious in the flourishing internet radio scene is the fact that the major FM conglomerates are failing at producing what us consumers want to hear.
Moreover, the radio scene in the 60s when these laws were originally written was so much more diverse. Today, in light of the emergence of massive, uniform, ubiquitous conglomerates like Clear Channel, internet radio is filling the demand for the diverse array of tastes and preferences out there.
It seems the RIAA acts ideologically on issues like this, instead of conducting a rational analysis of the economic impact of internet radio–positive or negative–on their sales and profits. I think they would find it to be positive to sales if they only looked into the issue, instead of their knee-jerk response of running to Congress to “tattle.”
I have life and spiritual connections to Paradise. My family used to vacation just outside there when I was very young. One of my best friend’s brother is Paradise’s City Manager. When I discovered RP in 2003, it was as if one of life’s serendipitous, accidental events had caused something to come full circle. I listen to RP habitually, and like many others have bought an inordinate number of CDs by artists I’d only heard on RP. So unique is RP that over the past three years I’ve devoted a significant portion of my column, the “Carousel Corner” in The $ensible Sound, to reviews of artists and CDs that could be heard only on RP. In one small corner of the planet, RP is indispensable.
So, let’s act.
It would be very helpful, and I’ve written to saveourinternetradio.com to the same effect, to have the citation of the Copyright Office’s publication, undoubtedly in the Federal Register, to find out what kind of rule was published and what, if anything, can be done about it. The retroactivity is especially disturbing.
Yes, moving the whole shebang offshore or to Canada is a solution, but let’s see if there’s something short of that that will keep RP and its brethren on the net.
To commenter Jef above:
I’m baffled by your reasoning. You feel Clear Channel provides a service, in the form of free advertising, to the record companies. And yet you fail to see internet radio as another form of free advertising. Airplay is airplay, regardless of the manner in which the broadcast occurs. I’m just as likely to buy a song that I hear on internet radio as I would be if I heard the same song on a terrestrial broadcast station or a satellite radio station. In fact, I’m more likely to because I only listen to internet radio.
The irony of all of this is that the record labels still haven’t kicked the payola habit. They’ve been paying radio stations to play marginal new artists for the last five decades. Internet radio is arguably a better (and more affordable) way for labels to gain airplay for their smaller acts.
So wait, if the law was passed in ‘98 with the mindset that a perfect digital copy could be attained, what’s the difference between that and the supposed touted, all digital HD radio that’s coming online?
Let us know who to write to so that we can demand changes in the law to keep internet radio going.
The RIAA should be glad these webstations exist — listeners like me have sought out these stations to avoid the crap played on top 40 FM stations.
I don’t want the RIAA or their lawyers telling me what I can and cannot listen to.
So lets have internet broadcasters pick a day, like April 1 2007, and on that day we will not buy cds, dvds or downloads, no blockbuster and no netflick orders, and no amazon orders.
If we boycott just one day of shopping for media we can get our voices heard.
I realize that the RP communtity spans the globe and that an inspired voice for change can be heard from e-mail and other remote means but, Bill, you have a strong local following here in Northern CA let use it.
If people in the street still have the kind of impact that they should, then I say lets meet in Sacramento and force our local gov. to recongnize that they have some real people in their face! I’ve been looking for an excuse to get arrested lately anyway.
Bill, pick a date and we will be there.
Mike Johnson, Truckee CA
Please hang in there, Bill and Rebecca! We can’t lose you! The difference you have made in all of our musical lives is immeasurable, and I can’t imagine losing you.
I want you guys to know, though, that if the worst does happen, I’ll never forget what you’ve done for good, rare, independant music and its listeners!
RP is truely my musical Utopia, and always will be.
My name is Rich, and I’m proud to be a supporting listener of a fine internet radio station, Radio Paradise.
I’d like to send my comments to the US Copyright Board directly. However, it would be more offective to know some specifics about the pending action. Is there a link to this? Is there a full name for this action? I don’t think saying something like; “Hey, don’t kill Internet radio” will be effective. My email address is linked to my name. If someone could help out, that would be great!
Ken
[…] issued a new set of royalty rates for internet radio stations. From the report at RAIN and a blog post by Radio Paradise’s Bill Goldsmith it looks like the new rates could be as much as 125% of a […]
I am sending a letter to my congresswoman and I am going to start a letter writing campaign to the local newspapers. This must not be allowed to stand without question. Bill is right, this is an attempt by luddite forces to destroy what is arguably one of the best new uses for digital webcast technology.
It is time to man the barricades (so to speak) of the internet!
Hello, Bill and Rebecca!
I’m Cristina from Romania and a huge fan of RP. You’ve done a wonderful job so far and it’s breaking my heart to hear that you might be going out of business. I think it’s totally unfair what’s happening to you and to all the other US independent webcasters. If there’s anything I can do…
For what it’s worth, just wrote my congressman. This is important!
Drew
Please write your congressman/woman about this important issue. If enough people comment on this, we can get Congress to change the copyright laws.
U.S. Senators of the 110th Congress
Sorry, that last link was specifically for John Kerry, but you can choose any of the congresspeople you want. I recommend both your state senators.
My fiancee worked in a Senator’s office for 4 years, and she can attest– they do listen to their mail very carefully!
Bill & Rebecca,
I’ll be writing my congresscritters later today, and will be posting about this on my blog, but in the meantime — have you considered the possibility of switching to all-podsafe music? The RIAA is already whining about their declining “take” from CD sales; maybe it’s time to dry up their airplay money too…
BG replies:
That’s just not an option for a station like RP. Virtually all good music released before 2002 or so (& most of what’s been released since) is controlled by one of the major labels, or by an indie label unwilling to sign away their royalty rights. A radio station that played nothing but new, unsigned indie artists would not be a bad thing, but it wouldn’t be RP.
Please send your comments to your representatives and congress people - get their contact info at http://www.house.gov/writerep/ and http://www.failureisimpossible.com/contactcongress. It also may not hurt to also hit the Copyright Royalty Board at http://www.loc.gov/crb/contact/
Bill & Rebecca,
Love the station and the format, it is ridiculous what they expect you to pay. Does this affect internet stations in just the US? I am just curious because the laws in Canada are more relaxed when it comes to the music industry.
Besides, you do provide valuable access for people to purchase music, it is too bad that the music companies can’t see beyond that.
I wish you the best in your fight.
Radio Paradise is simply one of the best stations I’ve ever listened. Oh hell–it is the best.
After most of us get out of college, we don’t explore music nearly as much or as adventurously as we should. Broadcast radio doesn’t encourage stretching our horizons and satellite radio so far hasn’t rocked our world.
But Bill and Rebecca play an A-MAZING variety of music. Sure, I don’t like all of it. But I like 95% of what I hear on Radio Paradise, and the whole community surrounding this couple encourages me to re-consider the 5% that doesn’t grab me.
This new royalty scheme is unbelievable. Recording industry executives should realize that Internet radio is a way to GROW audiences, to get people excited about music again. Conventional radio has become so stale and boring that people don’t care that their iPods don’t have built-in tuners: they’d rather listen to their own playlists.
Or they can listen to fresh approaches to music provided by folks like Bill and Rebecca. I hope the RIAA and other groups behind these increases wake up and realize that they could be killing the young goose that’s already laying golden eggs for them. If they can’t or won’t wake up, RP listeners and others need to organize and make their voices heard.
Kent in Washington, DC
Long Live RP
Are there Bills to support or fight?
Wow, this is insane. Apparently greed knows no bounds… Maybe you could go subscription-only? Not ideal, i know. What political entity should we inundate with letters? Congress?
Check out Radio Paradise forums for this thread:
http://www.radioparadise.com/content.php?name=Forums&file=showtopic&topic_id=9567
A lively discussion on the topic, with Bill answering a lot of questions posed here, is in progress.
Hi Bill & Rebecca!
I discovered RP when I got my first High speed Internet connection End of 2000, when I spent one year studying in LA. It’s my favorite station since then. I don’t know what I would do without RP. I’m from Kiel in northern Germany where there are only a few FM stations and all of them are getting worse except for one small one but reception is bad in my room.
I must admit: It’s been a while since i bought my last record but I don’t have the money right now. But when that changes, most of the stuff on my List would be music I heard on RP or maybe on some other webstations…
If I find out something I can do from here in Germany I will…
Until then I wish you all the Best!
There may not be an easy way out for radioparadise, but i hope that as the RIAA grip tightens, people leave the RIAA behind. Use creative commons licenced music. Currently that is extremely limited but the power of the internet you so richly describe also has the power to cut out the middle man and go directly to the artists who still have control of where their music is played.
All of this talk is nice, but as Kirk has touched upon, the whole industry is head deep in criminal payoffs (payola). RIAA will not listen to reason, and with their big fat pockets, they will continue to pay whomever necessary in Congress to get their way. Write your local constituents but…
(Stephanie said it right) ban/boycott their products. Tell everyone you know, post on every forum you use, plan a date that we decide to buy nothing. Only internet radio will be heard that day. Nothing hurts the rich like making them poor.
Bill and Rebecca move the servers off shore and continue with business as usual. US businesses like Banks do this everyday.
They should be paying you to play their songs! They used to have to.
Bill, simple solution:
Only play independent labels that agree not to shaft you. Screw the corporate establishment, and refuse to play their shit.
This will be a big hit in your musical inventory, but you can adapt. Refocus on giving up and coming artists, whose outfits aren’t greed centered the publicity they need.
Seems to me you need to focus on independent labels and artists who are willing to work out something reasonable with you and just totally scrap anything owned by any group that wants more than you can give. For example, I first heard Fontaine on RP. I very soon thereafter purchased her CD. That’s a clear benefit to Fontaine. However, I hear a lot of other stuff on RP that I never buy (or even want to buy). Exposure is good. The artists know it’s good. And they’ll support you if you ask them. Call Fontaine. Call all the independent labels and artists you can think of and form a coalition in support of something mutually beneficial. Obviously, this number-of-listeners thing is BS. There’s no way of measuring how many people are tuned into an FM station. Just because you can measure connections over IP doesn’t make the double standard fair.
BG replies:
This has come up a lot, and I appreciate the suggestion and the thinking behind it, it’s just not a realistic alternative for RP. There are plenty of stations that play nothing but new, unsigned artists — and nobody listens to them. It’s the mix of new indie artists like Fontaine with established artists like REM, Radiohead, The Beatles, etc. that is attractive to RP’s listeners, and provides those new artists with valuable exposure. The percentage of music played on RP that is controlled by a major label or by an indie label unwilling to sign away their rights probably approaches 95%. I’m not interested in programming a radio station that is only able to play 5% of what I would LIKE to play — and you probably wouldn’t be interested in listening to it for very long.
I can’t claim to be a fan of Radio Paradise: I never heard of it until I saw this link on Buzzflash. I have been involved in a campaign to restore progressive talk to Boston since Clear Channel took its two outlets off the air. I was a radio DJ in college and have loved radio (at least ideal radio) ever since. I listen to a great deal on the Internet. I’ve also made many CDs of music from websites.
Which brings me to my point: I’ve never paid for anything I’ve burned to CD. I’ve also never broken any copyright laws. Everything I have used has come from free sites; copyright if any is via Creative Commons. There are far more recordings available for free than anyone (including me) can imagine. I have had a fantasy of doing a regular radio program consisting entirely of freely available materials.
Why can’t this be done? No, you won’t get a lot of musical stars on records largely owned by conglomerates. You will, however, glean a great deal of fabulous material in any genre you can think of: just to name a few things I have enjoyed, ancient blues, country, and gospel recordings; music from hundred-year-old cylinders; trash people have picked up at yard sales and seen fit to put on line; a rap song about Ronald Reagan sung in German by an 80-year-old artist; Viennese popular songs from the 1920s (URLs gladly provided on request).
What the RIAA is doing is shameful, and unfortunate; I wish nonprofit ventures like this one could flourish without corporate interference. But even so, not every bit of recorded material is covered by copyright, and among the many bits that are not are some incredible treasures. I hope you, and others who are fascinated by the Internet and the prospect of streaming music they love, can dig up some of them for the delight of your listeners, and they shouldn’t cost you a thing.
It would be a shame to lose even one “mom and pop” station on the internet.
The only way to fix this is to bombard our elected officials with either a petition or letter writing campaign. The have to - by law - respond to each and every one.
Would someone who is saavy about this please put up a site or get this started? I would be happy to help or contribute anything I can whether it be money or time.
I’m an independant recording artist and this affects me too! Internet radio is sometimes the only place that an “indy” can get airplay.
Let’s get active about this!!
I love Internet radio. Why not just stop playing RIAA-controlled music? I’m bias because I listen to mostly independent and foreign iRadio music, but really…just stop playing it.
BG replies:
See my comments above.
Bill & Rebecca,
I have recently become a supporting listener of RP after becoming convinced that it is the best alternative to FM radio. Now I hear this. Is it possible that the people in charge of these decisions will listen to reason and cut you the same deal as the big guys.? I mean fair is fair, right? This country was built by innovators with fresh ideas and new perspectives. Surely, someone in Washington can see there way clear to take a look at this and realize that this is totally unfair to internet radio. I mean internet radio is not going to go away so the rules and regs need to be adjusted to accomodate its existence. Good luck in this fight. We are with you and you have fairness on your side.
“We are now faced with the very real possibility that all of our efforts will have been in vain, and that the thousands of people who are devoted listeners to our station will have it snatched out of their lives.”
You guys have brought a lot of fantastic music to us, enriching my life and the lives of countless others. Even if sanity loses out, you have done a Very Good Thing, and we’re all grateful.
Everything changes, and no effort is wasted.
Bill and Rebecca,
As others have suggested, as a last resort (or maybe not so last resort) you can set up a company in another country that is more friendly to your enterprise. It’s not such an exotic thing to do. A LOT of your listeners have companies in other countries. I’m one of them.
One day you’d just announce on RadioParidise.com that you’ve had to shut it down, BUT … luckily another company outside of the US has contracted with you and Rebbecca to continue doing what you love to do. You’d just need to check it carefully with your lawyers to make sure it was set up correctly. And the two of you would stay right where you are.
As a convenience, links to the new streams are on your old site … etc.
Bill and Rebecca, if things don’t go so well for your enterprise in the US, you’d be very welcome in the rest of the world! Go for it!
I’m typing this from Switzerland, listening to RP.
Nando
Of course low budget internet radio must be put out of business! How else will mega-corporations be able to control our every thought?
I appreciate the efforts you have put into your station. It takes time, dedication and commitment to make it work. I once had a small internet radio station, so I do understand. I also work with artists as a booking agent, so I see their need for compensation.
I am no fan of the major labels due in large part to the crap they foist upon the consumer. I have dealt mainly with indie artists and will do so for as long as I can.
Perhaps a solution can be found at least in the short term by negotiating terms with indie artists who are not slaves to the corporate thugs. I realize this will remove much of what you cuurently play, but there are many derserving bands who should get some airtime. Just maybe when the consumer backlash over this latest draconiam affront strikes home, a new climate will take shape that will allow you to once again play that which you have been.
It isn’t a great solution, but while people contact their lawmakers and attempt to fix this it can keep you going at a rate structure you can handle.
Btw, I also have maintained a web blog for nearly a year now on which I review cd releases from unsigned blues artsits. I have contacted every artist featured and secured permission to upload their cd for fans, radio and promoters to download free of charge. The artists recognize the benefit of the free advertising and it has resulted in increased sales and live show bookings. Feel free to use this music as it was put there for your purpose.
http://www.leversblues.blogspot.com
Each cd reviewed has been uploaded to the megaupload servers complete with cover art. The last line of each of my reviews gives the address to download the cd. They are zipped with winrar into one file each.
Good luck and keep up the great work.
Tom Pennock
The Lever Agency
Thank you Bill and Rebecca for making my day at work enjoyable, as I listen to your broadcast everyday.
I really hope you two get through with this and RP stays on the web. It would be a great loss if it didn’t. Finding a commercial free quality radio today ain’t easy (if even possible).
Issues like this makes me think of the phrase “Land of the free…”, what does that mean, in reality?
You got my support in this struggle, and I wish you the best of luck!
/Johan
(Sweden)
I’m sent letters to my elected officials.. I hope this gets repealed.. Best of luck. RP is such a part of my life..really..
[…] Save Internet Radio (again)Speaking of internet radio. The US Copyright Office has updated the performance royalty schedule for internet broadcasters. It’s looking very bad for every but the largest corporations. The new fee schedule would effectively silence the vast majority of internet stations. […]
dear Rebecca, Bill & the team:
honestly, my thought is that you guys do not have to waste your precious time & energy in politics ~ your call is internet music, isn’t it? that’s were you guys are irreplaceable
I’d love to see that RP avoids RIAA controlled music or broadcasts out of Mexico ~ what a lesson would that be! besides being a real step forward in human freedom & creativity
please take advantage of this opportunity in the best possible way
XO
Bora
i am a longtime listener of radioparadise.com, one of thousands. it has changed my life in more ways that i could state here.
this is an outrage to me and many other loyal listeners.
the only cds i’ve purchased in the past 5 yrs is directly due to radioparadise.com. otherwise, i know i’d not have made those purchases.
we will do all we can to keep it going.
we will write the powers that be so that our voices will be heard in regard to saving something we love deeply.
good luck bill and rebecca!
lily34 - rebecca, derby, ny
I’ve been listening to woxy.com religiously ever since it’s re-birth back in October ‘06, and listened to it on and off before then. I have discovered so many artists that I would have never heard of if I just listened to terrestrial or satellite radio.
I have bought 7 CD’s in the past few months of artists I have discovered from the internet. Before then, I never bought a CD in my life, I would just download singles and albums of popular artists. It’s the internet that has given a better appreciation of artists , while commercial radio had just convinced me to download whatever they make popular.
Please, RIAA, don’t help destroy something that has made me and many others actually appreciate music and other artists.
When I discovered RadioParadise.com I thought I had died and gone to heaven. Finally, a music provider that fed my eclectic musical tastes. I have virtually abandoned the radio “pop” music drivel that churns out what sometimes seems to be a 20 song loop. I listen to your station at home, and especially at work where it makes my day much more enjoyable. As others have said, I have purchased much of my music (CD’s & iTunes) by discovering the awesome new artists you play.
I think there is room for everyone to perform in this arena and I hope you will survive this storm of unreasonability. I am willing to support you so that I can listen to the music I love without commercial interruptions. Thanks RP and don’t give up the fight.
Chilliwack, BC, Canada.
I just spent most of the evening reading about this issue, and I’m sad to say that a lot of people just don’t understand the implications of this royalty increase.
To people who say just rent a server outside the country and stream from there, the bottom line is that the government can arrest you as long as you reside in the US. The government doesn’t care where the server is - they care about where you physically live. If you’re in this country, then you’re operating from this country. The only way to avoid this is to physically move to another country, and that’s an expensive and stressful proposition for most people.
To the folks who say just play non-RIAA music, that is easier said than done. There isn’t the same depth of music available and stations would have to focus primarily on new music. And you couldn’t play anything from music’s rich cultural heritage from the last 100 years.
I think the only thing we can do is to write your Congressmen - but also write your local newspapers and media outlets. The only way we can get the Copyright Royalty Board to change its rate schedule is to publicly embarass them in the media and make people see that this is an attempt to wipe out competition to terrestrial radio by taking music off the Internet.
I blundered across this issue while looking for something else on Wired, sent the story to my sister who’s in radio and works for Clear Channel, and she came up with your link here.
So, in my humble contribution to the effort, I blogged about it, too.
http://rosswriting.com/blog
But, boy, SOS, huh? Call me a hayseed, but it’s still so amazing to me how people in, for instance, an office in Washington can be so callous about squelching diversity in the economy.
Let’s hope we can make enough noise again (like with the Day of Silence in 2002) to have some effect on the Board before the 15th.
I’ve been a RP fan since 2004. As other folks have written, the easy solution is to turn RP into a station/website devoted to independent artists. Start working out royalty deals with independent record companies that don’t require the RIAA robbery. Will the quality suffer? Of course. But so what! I love a lot of the music you play but I don’t really care if I never hear Pink Floyd or CSN(Y) on your station again. Fact is, these folks are as much or more of the problem as the “greedy record labels.” Find other labels and artists and get over the fact that the majority of the artists we all love don’t give a damn about RP or any of us.
Internet radios are my source of inspiration for bying cds especialy from Anglo/Saxon artists - I’m a French listener/citizen. How can I make the choices for the music for me to buy if you take the album samples away from me? or maybe you don’t want me to buy due to a lake of choice by killing the internet radios.
Some internet radios claim thenself to be commercial free, that is wrong, they advertise music! and it work for me.
Balkenende doe er wat aan! - Balkenende (Dutch Prime Minister) make this nonsence stop!
I tried to sign the petition but it is only US citizens, what can the rest of the world do? Sit back and wait for what Uncle Sam decides…..
I understand the fear from record companies and artists here but I think that it may be the case that this decision is based on assumptions.
How many people record internet radio and listens to the songs later instead of buying records? In case this is not a considerable amount of people, this action will not solve anything. It must also be taken into account that radio listeners learns names of good songs and bands and may buy MORE music when they listen to internet radio. The usage of internet radio must be properly investigated to support this type of action.
Also, internet radio is digital and every copy is identical, but not perfect. The compression formats used reduce quality, just like an analogue transmission does. One suggestion might be to lower the quality to make it more worth to buy the music uncompressed on CD.
/
Jonas Hultén
Listener from Sweden
[…] Und jetzt droht das Aus. Obwohl Radio Paradise seit jeher Royalties für die gespielte Musik abgeführt haben, steht eine Veränderung der Regeln an, die RP und anderen unabhängigen Internetradios aus den USA die Überlebenschancen entziehen wird. Bill fasst die Situation aus seiner Sicht selbst zusammen. […]
I just find this completely ridiculous. The RIAA is fearful of what? Selling records? Being able to CONTROL their sales of records? This ISN’T about royalties, obviously. Seems to me they don’t want to sell any records at all.
What the heck are they thinking?!?!
I’ve already voiced my opinion on my blog, here’s the link: http://lesgirly.livejournal.com/121436.html
I truly hope Radio Paradise will not be taken away from the internet. Radiostations like RP is vital for the free information and democracy of the internet. It is not only a question of having access to a pleasurable way of passing leisure time, but to be able to make my own choise of listening. And that choice is a commercial-free radio.
The Riaa has never been forward thinking they are still trying to make up with what they lost during the Napster days. So they figure hitting Internet radio is a good way to take back for there own stupidity. All they we will do is drive good people like you into the underground where they will never realise any royalties. They spend more time trying to make laws to make up for thier own shortsightedness (I just made up that word, but it sounds good.) rather than trying to embrace the new technology and figure out a way to make it more profitable for everyone. Good Luck and if it doesn’t work out I will find you in the underground.
[…] så höga att en kanal som Radio Paradise riskerar att få läggas ner. Läs mer i kanalens blogg. I mina ögon verkar detta som ett slag mot demokratin och det fria internet. Rysligt, tycker […]
Another stupid big business/government way of eliminating the competition. The internet is the future and they are trying to control it with crazy royalty rates. Let the people continue hearing internet radio like Radio Paradise! Keep the rates fair! The public will respond in kind by buying the artists heard on RP.
I’ve been a subscriber to RadioParadise for a couple of years. In my opinion Bill and Rebecca have defined a unique listening universe full of an eclectic, global mix of high quality music. I would consider it a barrier to one of life’s greatest pleasures - music - should this station and others like it be forced off the air.
Milton, ON, Canada
Hi, I’m John Law, from Newcastle upon Tyne, North East England, U.K. I’ve been listening to Radio Paradise for 3 or so years.
I’d respectfully, and very seriously, suggest that Bill, Rebecca, and Radio Paradise have done more, cent for cent, for US foreign relations than Condoleeza Rice.
I might add that through their links to commercial internet sales, they are selling *a lot* of CDs.
The RP website is a paragon of how to use the Internet, and indeed of *how the Internet should be used*. It is alarming to see corporate power threatening this great, civilizing, influence in the world.
Hello Bill.
I am a loyal fan of Radio Paradise. I wanted to let you know I signed the petition, emailed my Senators and Representative, and posted a bulletin about the issue on my MySpace page to alert my friends to the issue. Thank you for keeping us informed.
Sincerely,
Nyama
How much would you have to charge listeners to keep it going and pay what the RIAA is asking. I think people would be willing to pay a monthly/yearly fee. RP is that good. Force the support. If they want to hear the same great music every day for they need to pay up.
I sincerely hope this gets resolved. As one commentator added, I have discovered and bought many a CD on the back of listening to this station, and many people I’ve recommended it to are devout listeners here in unsunny London. If there’s anything that we here in the UK can do to aid your appeal, we’re all ears.
I’d promise to speak to old Tony Blair, but I’m sure he’d take the RIAA’s side. He’s that kind of snivelling fellow.
Good luck!
G
Unfortunately America is struggling with the idea of freedom and fairness these days. We all need to keep a close eye on the powers that be and remind them theirs is a temporary position; we’re in charge!
I’m optimistic. Along the way somebody always gets in the way but ultimately you can’t stop progress.
Other than public radio, I don’t know anyone who can stand listening to commercial, “terrestrial” radio anymore.
You will live on RadioParadise, the ultimate mixologists!
I have been a Radio Paradise listener for five years or more (yeah I remember the first RP logo). In my mind internet radio and stations as forward thinking as Radio Paradise have relaced the old school neighbourhood record store. In the past you could go to a store and talk with the owner/clerk and find new music with their help and the help of others in the store. It was a community of music fans and where lovers of similar music not in the mainstream could hear music that they then purchased.
With places like this gone, replaced by mega-stores without a soul and music outside of the mainstream harder to find, it is obvious that other communities built up else where. In my mind internet radio is an integral part of the music industry for the digital future. Without stations like Radio Paradise I believe that people will be forced to find their music through other means, most likely illegal download communities.
Why replace Radio Paradise’s model of “Listen, Discuss, Purchase” with “Download Pirate copy, Listen, Keep”?
Powers that be…..you decide.
[…] 2007: Boycott Those RIAA Bastards! The View From Paradise I’m Bill Goldsmith, and my wife Rebecca and I have spent the last seven years of our lives […]
Hi Bill!
Thanks for that dillybob link on the main page for sending e-mails to Congress. It worked great!
Please let us know what else we can do. I would be heartbroken without Paradise on the Radio.
I listen to Radio Paradise religiously all day at work, 5 days a week, 9 hours a day. I also keep a small word document open entitled ‘music ideas’ readily available to jot down ideas for PURCHASES of Cds that I get a sampling of from RP. I had not bought a CD in over 4 years until the last two years, when I began to listen to RP. RP plays the most wonderful, thoughtful, eclectic mix of new and old, that introduces the listener to new groups and old favorites that might have been overlooked. It is absurd for record companies and artists alike to think that this format does not support their bottom line while entertaining and enriching listeners’ lives at the same time.
I don’t get it and I don’t live in the USA, so I don’t get to influence the process. However, I do consume music, I do buy music and I do support artists. I also support Radio Paradise because it stands out as a music station - great music, great community, great concept.
Bill and Rebecca, move to Canada and keep the music flowing!
Bill Sedgwick, Toronto, Ontario
I wish there was something us non-US residents could do to help save radio Paradise, besides being a paying listener.
We play your station all the time at work and at home. It is nice to know that my friends and family might be in B.C., Yukon or Ontario and we are all listening to the same music.
RP also plays more Canadian content music then our local radio station does, and not just the top ten stuff, I can hear anything from Fred Eaglesmith to the Barenaked Ladies!
My world music collection has also increased since listen to RP, where else would I have ever or heard of Yat-Kha, Paolo Conte,Outback…
This is what public radio should be like.
Bill,
One strategy may be to use hard data to prove the effectiveness of yours and your colleagues’ stations in promoting music sales. You must have a wealth of data from Amazon, iTunes, etc. that proves that people do purchase music after listening to it on the internet. Radio stations don’t have this. They can’t directly link sales to their playlist; you can.
Of course, this may not matter to those promoting the “mega hit.” Though, I wonder if you would find an ear with those owners and producers of everything else?
If we internet radio listeners are truely music consumers then we should be showing that. Maybe in addition to all our congress writing we should be making purchases of music through links provided by our favorite internet radio stations. This can be tracked and provided as evidence of how beneficial these these stations are to the copywright owners.
So, go buy some music and be sure to do it through a link from Radio Paradise or some other internet radio station.
BG replies:
Part of our filing with the Copyright Board was a detailed accounting of how many CDs we’ve sold through Amazon & how many iTunes downloads we’ve generated. Due to the way the judges were charged with making their decision, none of that was taken into consideration — and the RIAA continues to push the argument that we cause harm to them every time we play a piece of copyrighted music, and that they should be compensated for that harm. That argument is the underlying “logic” behind the DMCA provisions that the judges had to follow in setting the rates. THAT’s what needs to change — the flawed laws behind all of this insanity.
[…] read more | digg story […]
The **AA’s will not rest until they’ve driven all innovation in electronically delivered entertainment offshore. Most of the rest of the world recognizes the value of diversity but the US govt is for sale to the highest bidder and the **AAs have deep deep pockets - well they do for now, until they succeed in destroying their golden eggs. Think that’s absurd? Wait, watch, do nothing, then lament the US is no longer competitive internationally. We’ve just about reached that point in internet connectivity and getting there in primary and secondary education. Automobile construction was gone last century and software construction is going fast. Or can we consider ourselves world leaders because we produce “American Idol”?
Pressure from internet radio hurt the Clear Channels and their ilk enough to somewhat reverse their death march to mediocrity - now this pushback. I watched (and wrote to Congress) the last time this fight occurred - but with the (famous) diversity of options available today will enough people pay attention to make a difference? God, I hope so.
The recording industry (RIAA) are unadulterated 100% greedy sociopaths. They have no interests except for getting as much money as they possibly can from people by hook or crook. It makes no difference to them. They will use whatever resources they have available to them. They care nothing for their consumer or their artist. They are simply speaking pure looters.
Costs of vinyl records used to be $7-8 each. When CDs first came out the industry justified their even higher cost $15-20 on the lame explaination that it was “new” technology. They extended the false hope to people that the price would come down “later.” Well, of course, this never happened. Their real motive is to charge whatever exorbiant price they can extort from the consumer. There never was any intention to lower the price. For over 20 years they have been milking the public and lining their bottomless pockets.
I have zero sympathy for them. Let them die. I can only wish that industry the most horrible demise.
wake up folks and realize;your civil liberties,your privacy;humanity and anything else that the government backed corporations can take from you,they will.stop buying their products,don’t watch tv.buy from the local grocer,make your own.if you get into their pocket books things will change real fast.trust me.i don’t listen to paradise radio but i do listen to 3wk.com and would not know what to do without this splendid radio station and the great people that run the show.
Just one comment related to the fears of the record companies… I have purchased more CDs since listening to RP (2 years) than I had in the previous 15 years, simply because you exposed me to so many new artists and reacquainted me with new selections from the old favorites. Do they not understand that you are good for the industry?
I’ve enjoyed your station for more than two years. The day I discovered Radio Paradise was a very happy day and I can say my eight hours at work have been delightful since then. I made my sister and friends assiduous listeners. I’ve discovered great artist in your station. It would be a terrible loss for radio to lose Radio Paradise. Please let us know if we can do anything to help you if we live abroad.
From Mexico, best wishes.
Thanks for the link to the petition and the location to write our representatives. I already sent them my 2 cents.
Here in Chicago, when we have only one radio station with a thought (and even they’re dumbing it down), RP is a light in the dark. You’re XRT but with balls, man!
Love YOU and GOOD LUCK!
Susan
I sympathize with the plight of internet radio stations, but there is really only one way to stop DRM and the RIAA. Don’t buy or play their products. I’m tired of reading posts by people who say they’ve bought more CDs and then go on to vent their outrage at the fascistic practices of the corporate music industry. Would you buy bandages from the guy who’s stabbing you?
This whole episode is extremely painful at a number of levels:
1. Even in the self-interest of the recording industry it is just patently wrong. I know most regulars here at RP have upped their purchases after hearing tracks here. I would say I have bought at least 3 times as much music in the last two years of being a regular listener than before. For chrissakes, Bill even makes it dead easy with direct links to iTunes and Amazon.
2. It is going to screw up one of the few real sources of joy I have (coming in second to kids friends and family).
3. It is patently inequitable. Bill and Rebecca have been at pains to do everything by the book, they are so far removed from unethical conduct it is almost painful, and here they are getting squeezed out of business on the basis of some extremely dubious motives.
4. It will effectively diminish diversity. In my book this is in itself an evil. Why the hell do we have an internet if not to learn and discover? You can spoonfeed me mainstream crap all you want and I can assure you I will pull the plug before I puke all over your shoes. And I won’t be the only one. In the end it will result in many worthy consumers simply switching off and going elsewhere for their kicks.
5. It is a cynical slap in the face of freedom of speech and freedom of expression. Why, pray tell, should a small mom&pop operation like RP be effectively forced out of operation for doing what they are doing when they are quite happy to pay royalties that are fair and equitable? What does freedom of expression mean if corporate interests have such lobbying power that they can stamp out an operation that is so above board like RP? Oh, I know, it means, you can play what you want as long as it fits our advertising strategy.. Nice joke. C’mon people, get real. This sort of heavy-handedness is a threat to basic rights that, I hope, are anchored in the constitution. Otherwise, heaven help us.
Bill and Rebecca,
I have been listening to RP for a Very long time now. It plays constantly in my edit studio where my clients often inquire as to where this amazing mix of music is coming from. I then point to my tee shirt or sweat shirt or hoody and proceed to gather yet another listener to this paradise of music. I will absolutely follow your advice and write to … call … and email my congress and spread the word about this potential catastrophe to us faithful listeners and artists.
I too have bought more music than I ever did before simply from your bringing it to my ears.
You are the best! Rock On! You have my support
Hi,
I’m from Brazil and I do enjoy radio paradise. Let me now if I can do something to help you guys, as just U.S. citizens can sign the letter to the Congress.
Thanks a lot for the great radio!
RP plays both RIAA-affiliated songs, and non-RIAA-affiliated songs. Why not introducing each and every RIAA song with a special short jingle or beeper sound, or a fart/burp sound to notify the listener of the disgrace. This will prevent us from purchasing this song. Record it if you like it but don’t purchase it as you already paid once for it !
[…] Second…because someone at the RIAA didn’t think they were making enough money already, they recently convinced the Copyright Royalty Board to push through a drastic increase the royalty rates for small independent internet radio stations. This increase, which amount to over 100% of the annual revenues of most internet radio stations, will undoubtably serve to kill off all current internet radio stations as well as prevent future stations from starting. Bill Goldsmith, the owner/operator of one of the stations I’ve been listening to for 5 years now, Radio Paradise, has taken the helm on this issue and is advocating on behalf of the hundreds of other internet radio stations that will be affected by this change. Bill has started a blog, where he, in a very detailed post, outlines the details of this decision. It’s not a short entry, but it’s well worth your time. Please go read it. […]
I’m putting a link on our community Web site and asking people to contact their representatives.
Radio Paradise is a great radio station, but the issue is bigger than that, and people should speak up about it. We support you and hope that you are able to pull through!
[…] is an article at SaveOurInternetRadio entitled, The View from Paradise where: Bill Goldsmith, and my wife Rebecca and I have spent the last seven years of our lives […]
I will reiterate what has been repeated here numerous times. Radio Paradise is an integral part of my life which would leave quite a large hole were it to disappear.
1. Most, if not all, commercial radio available to me is horrendous. I have only two sources of radio in my life - NPR for news, and Radio Paradise for music. RP is playing throughout our home and office almost every waking hour.
2. Like others, I had become bored with music and was only listening to my own “private” radio station of random MP3 playlists from my old CDs and vinyl, hardly ever buying or hearing anything new. When I discovered RP I immediately began making lists of music I had to buy - new groups I was hearing for the first time, and old artists with new material I never knew about. My CD purchases increased an order of magnitude after I found RP. My only problem now is finding time to listen to my new purchases since it means switching off Radio Paradise to do it…
3. I hope that in the end the advent of the internet will result in the death of the big-corporation recording industry. I would love to know that a much larger percentage of the money I pay to purchase CDs, and the donations I give to pay radio royalties, would go directly into the artists’ pockets. With the internet providing the ability for artists to market themselves and distribute music samples freely, perhaps this misguided decision by the CRB will finally begin a paradigm shift to steer money away from corporations and back to the creative talent that really deserves it. I only hope that ventures like Radio Paradise don’t die before the transition can occur.
As others have said, with few exceptions, every CD or iTunes track I’ve purchased over the last two years was purchased after hearing the artist/song on Radio Paradise. The only part the lawmakers and RIAA are going to hear is that they will lose business if stations like Radio Paradise go under. And believe me, I will buy all my music from Apple to give them better nogitiating power vs. the RIAA!
Hi
I live in The Netherlands, Europe.
The music from Radio Paradise is the only thing I can listnen to while at work. There shall be silence here, without you folks. Pity I cannot sign the Petition. (being a non US citizen)
Take care
This is ridiculous. Move to Canada and remove the government from the equation.
I remember stumbling across your station from a link on Winamp’s radio page. The station was labeled “Intelligent Rock”. I was a bit puzzled. It was the first time I’d saw that label. So by curiosity, I clicked on that link, and since that day, I’ve been totally hooked (as are some of my friends). To have that kind of radio, playing all genres of music, especially good music, is truly a dream come true. Music, and the media in general, are at an all time low. Everything is money driven, music is not music anymore, it’s image. But most people will just swallow whatever you push down their throats. Today they’ll buy what’s popular today, tomorrow they’ll buy what’s popular tomorrow, and so on… Be it music, movies, clothes, whatever.
I can’t believe the music industry are still trying to fight technology instead of using it. After all these years…
I’m sure that one of the side effects of that is that people will feel so pissed that they’ll actually feel less guilty of “stealing” music on peer to peer networks. The music industry will never win this battle. They will have to go with the new technologies and find ways of making money with them instead of spending all their money trying to fight them.
I’d be willing to pay a subscription fee for your station if that’s the last resort. And from reading the posts from your listeners here, i guess that some wouldn’t mind either. I prefer this instead of you getting on the marketing bandwagon.
I’ll be doing what I can to try to stop this nonsense.
Long live Radioparadise
I can’t tell you how much great new music and inspiration I’ve found by listening to Radio Paradise! I’m a musician and artist, and think the RIAA is way out of control! I’ve signed the petition, sent letters to my congressmen, and dugg every article I can find on this insanity. What else can I do? I want to do more!
Blessings!
RP is equidistant between mexico and canada. if its your life work and your raison d’être, consider relocating. you’ll be an ex-pat with a huge (global) following, and will make a terrific point to the government bureaucrats. could be the example they need to learn from. just something to think about.
This is a ruling that is fundamentally wrong. Laws, even copyright laws, exist to benefit society. I see this judgment as a serious injustice!
*wahhh* :_(
I just don’t know what else to say.
Bill and Rebecca,
Discovering Radio Paradise just over a year ago (way too late) is one of the greatest things that’s ever happened to me. Your honesty, ambition, and work is greatly appreciated. You have introduced me to so many new artists and styles of music.
I hope that this does not mean the end of Radio Paradise. I will do anything in my power to help RP stay in operation.
Thanks,
Aaron
If what the RIAA want is money, pity we couldn’t muster enough up between us to choke the bastardos with! Give ém what they want to their own demise!
Viva la Revolution! Continue Internet Radio!!!
It doesn’t need savin’, it’s just fine the way it is!
Bill & Rebecca
I found you 2 months ago and then became a supporter, you have replaced my original station (WXRT) because of the wide range of great music that you evidently spend an enormous amount of time researching. I have signed the petition and am sending out letters to my states representatives and will be supporting this cause as best I can. Keep up the exellent job and lets all keep the faith.
nonie1107
Let me ask a question: When was the last time we, as sophisticated listeners of music were turned on to a group or track from a terrestrial radio station that wasn’t from a college or public radio broadcast? Think very hard…
The homogenation of radio began when Gil Scott-Heron’s B-Movie star, Ron Reagan de-regulated the FCC… Corporations went on a shopping spree buying up as many radio stations as they could in major markets at inflated prices. To protect their investments, they went “safe” on the programming side. Narrow programming guidelines and corporate programmers with bad taste and no instincts controlled content.
Because of this mis-vision, talented artists went undiscovered for years… Until the Internet… The best, and the worst thing to happen… It opened up a lot of ears and listening avenues, but because of Napster, Labels and the RIAA freaked out for the wrong reasons: Lables losing their monopoly on distribution they had in place for 50 years, and the RIAA thought royalties would disappear… I would submit that if it weren’t for Internet radio programming enthusiasts, countless artists would never be heard, let alone receive a royalty check selling a CD or tracks in the digital world.
Internet radio stations like RP ARE the reason quality, creative music is getting some serious ear attention… It is the depth of quality content that is paramount for solid programming, artfully blending different styles and genres together seamlessly… Labels and the RIAA should be celebrating Internet radio, not trying to destroy it.
One can understand the RIAA going after college dorms for illegally downloading… But the greater picture is what happens to all the wonderful music stored in label vaults that will never get played on a commercial or college stations… How do people access it… Rhapsody, Napster, Yahoo Music, MSN? Come on, these entities employ mostly audio-tech file folks- people who worship technology more than music- not the pure joy of adventuresome audio-file passionate purists… I would argue that Radio Paradise and other Internet stations have evolved into an important promotion vehicle showcasing the immense history and depth of recorded music… And history will show that Internet radio should have been embraced…
Just what the public needs: Crush creative, original programming so corporate radio can continue to do what they do best- Mediocre music programming… No competition means they won’t be threatened or inspired to improve their cautious ways, continuing to protect their investments… The backlash might be a windfall for satellite programming and iPod sales though… This action may hasten people’s interest to find other ways of finding cool music and cocooning with their own… The Labels and RIAA’s blindness is that Internet radio IS the road to music discovery, whether it be new or catalog material….
Let’s face it, the folks pirating tunes could care less about the depth or breadth of content and sound quality…. For the youngsters of today feel entitled to steal music- the flavor of the day, treating music as a commodity, not a treasure trove for the ears… Hitting the point on the head was the always forward thinking Bob Dylan, saying last year that if people want to download his tunes with such inferior sound quality, go ahead, they aren’t real fans of his music… The Labels should take a cue from the always ahead of trend icon… He’s not panicking, because he knows quality content is the real king… The main reason people purchase music, not steal it… One day, when this whole landscape shift settles, the kingdom of content will be qualitative, not quantitative… For music like art, cannot be categorized as quantity over imagination, creativity, originality or uniqueness… Unfortunately, the pioneers of today’s Internet radio may become casualties of reckless reasoning…
Upping the rate on Bill’s wonderful Radio Paradise concept and others on the Web is a troubling sign of short sighted desperation and greed… And as we all know: Greed has a way of clouding most of what is right…
Contact your congressman and flood the RIAA with emails telling them you will never purchase another CD or song if they go through with their moronic per-per-play increase…
Let’s hope someone like Mark Cuban will jump in and be the John Wayne of thwarting this lunatic situation…
Bill
Thanks again for keeping the soundtrack going! Wrote my @#$%^?!! Senators and Congressman two days ago. Also getting the word out there on my blog.
http://www.chickenvideo.com/3-4-07.html
Hope the outlaw chicken bumper stickers spread some grins around Paradise.
Cheers for chickens!
Allison
Bill and Rebecca,
You both know that Radio Paradise has had a huge impact on me and my life. See!
RP really is my soundtrack. If it ceases to exist, there will be a hole…in my life (cue The Police).
I have signed both petitions, and will write to my congressmen, as well as on my blog.
I suggested the story to boingboing.net. I can only hope they pick it up.
Radio Paradise is such a gem. The way music radio is supposed to be. Truly eclectic, and innovative.
Long live RP!
Bill and Rebecca,
Ya’ll are great. I’ll write and call the senators here in coastal South Carolina. We’ll get this fixed or we’ll have to take ya’ll offshore. But what’s new.. I don’t think the music/broadcasting industry has ever been on the up and up… my father got cut loose after 30 years in broadcasting by clear channel for bitching about christmas music in october? dollars, dollars, dollars..? morons…lobbyist..? ..the riaa will do themselves in and internet radio will not go away.
[…] story of RadioParadise here and the story of SomaFM should be self-explanatory by […]
I didn’t read all the posts so don’t know if this has been already suggested, but is there any problem with moving streaming to another country? It could be a country with lower copyright fees, so it could still be 100% legal. (Although after being a musician for 14 years I still think music should be absolutely free, the world that creates a product out of it is mad.)
I’m in the UK so not sure how useful any of this is because (to paraphrase Eddie Cochran) “I’d like to help you son but you’re {to distant} to vote” - however…
A few comments / Questions….
I’ve been a long time RP listener and far from taking away revenue from the music industry it has greatly increased my net spend on music. I discover huge amounts of my new music via RP and I then go and purchase it either via a traditional medium (CD) or via download (I joined Napster because I wanted to download tracks I hear on RP). If I only had access to the narrow formulaic FM output I would not learn anything and would certainly not have changed my buying habits.
If this rule cannot be beaten then is there a way of funding RP. Could you develop some kind of foundation which had n thousand supporters who commit to support for a prolonged time period (say 2 to 3 years)…what sort of numbers and level of support would be needed?
Is there a technical solution….off the top of my head here….but if many listeners already have Napster and pay it on a monthly sub could RP somehow trigger playback of tracks from Napster (i.e. the listeners own PC gets the music) rather than RP sending it out. Surely in this way you wouldn’t be playing the music (or not all of it as I guess some would not be available).
Not sure if the copyright is on a per track level. If so, could costs be reduced by changing the broadcast hours of RP. At present you are 24×7 which is great for those of outside the US. But if it would contain costs then how about doing a 18 or 12 hour cycle which was effectively time shifted to the peak listening time for each country.
I’ve sent the email to my congressmen. I hope it helps.
Radio Paradise is like an addiction and a lifeline. Take it away, and I will certainly go into withdrawal and an early demise.
I’m an expat from Chicago living in Switzerland. When I moved here, I immediately missed the variety of the Chicago music scene. Then I found RP about 3 years ago, and my musical void was finally filled. There is nowhere else on this entire planet where anyone can find such an excellent mix of old and new tunes satisfying every musical desire, well mixed and served up hot by Bill and Rebecca.
Yes, I am an addicted supporting member, tuning in nearly all my waking hours.
Life for me wouldn’t be the same without RP. It links me to the outside world, it refreshes my day, it refreshes my mind, and it keeps my spirit up. Living without good music around is not living.
I NEED RP.
Please keep us international listeners informed regarding what we can do to help keep you in our ears. If it comes down to pulling the plug and having to move to Canada, if you ask, I’m sure your many devoted listeners would gladly send donations to the cause.
Livia
You know, Bill (and mel). You’ve been so great at making this r