(13) First there was AM radio. Then there was stereo FM radio. The next incarnation of terrestrial radio is Digital. Digital radio promises CD quality sound, and it will be free!
Naturally, the RIAA is pissed. They insist that there needs to be some sort of copy protection so that we can't record songs off the air on our digital radio/CD recorder set. We will be able to record a block of songs, but not an individual song.
It's hard enough to record an individual song off the radio, what with the DJs' inability to keep their mouths shut when a song starts and one song fading out when another fades in. What makes the RIAA think somebody is going to go to all that trouble?
Regardless, I don't think the RIAA will be happy until radio stations pay them every time a song is played. Currently, the record labels don't get money from radio stations. Radio stations pay royalties to the song publishers of every song they play. When Internet radio came along, Congress required that Internet broadcaster pay the record labels. When that law went into effect, thousands of radio stations, including my favorite, KFAN, stopped simulcasting their shows because they would lose money. Internet radio is now exclusively in the hands of large companies, and the small companies are shut out.
So, if you agree with me that the RIAA is overstepping its bounds, contact your favorite radio station. Ask them to consider "A Day Without Music." If enough stations participate, music publishers will see a drop in their income, and maybe they can pressure the labels to relax a bit.
And stop buying CDs from the companies that support the RIAA.
Thank you for listening to my rant. Please continue surfing.
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