Herro Flom Japan

Congressional Action Needed before May 15 to Halt Widespread Webcaster Bankruptcies

April 16, 2007 – The Copyright Royalty Board (CRB) today denied requests made by DiMA and other parties for a rehearing to reconsider issues in its March 2 determination of Internet radio royalty rates. Without Congressional intervention, the decision – which is retroactive to January 2006 – will go into effect May 15, with royalty rate increases of 300 to 1200 percent for webcasters. It is expected that many of these webcasters will declare bankruptcy at that time.

Digital Media Association (DiMA) Executive Director Jonathan Potter issued the following statement:

“The CRB’s denial of a rehearing today is all but a nail in the coffin for Internet radio, and May 15 now looms as the day the music will die. Internet radio provides exposure and royalties for thousands of independent artists and labels that are not represented by broadcast radio – and last year, 72 million people tuned in every month. We call on Congress to step in to save Internet radio for the artists, the labels, the webcasters and – most importantly – the tens of millions of listeners.”

(From http://www.digmedia.org/content/release.cfm?id=41&content=news)

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By now you've likely heard the news about the Copyright Board's ruling regarding net radio. Simply put, it approximately triples the amount paid to record labels via SoundExchange for streaming Internet radio over the next three years, changes the way the payments are computed (from what is called an "Aggregate Tuning Hour" basis to a straight "per play"), adds a confusing and onerous "per station minimum" fee with no maximum, and extends the new rates back to the beginning of 2006. Many small Webcasters won't be able to afford this, and you can bet large Webcasters like us are all taking a hard look at the Internet radio business and our products to decide if it's really worth the cost. Big companies might have more money, but they can't stay in businesses where they don't make any profit, a pretty simple business fact.

Compare the implications of this decision to terrestrial radio which pays NOTHING to SoundExchange, or even satellite radio which pays only 3-7% of their revenue to SoundExchange, and it's hard not to be left scratching your head. The irony of all this, of course, is that this ruling will keep LAUNCHcast, Pandora, and the like out of your living room and push you toward FM, where the labels are paid zero. This decision cuts off a genuine future revenue stream before it has had a chance to grow.

It's not just the Webcasters that will suffer. Higher costs, fewer Internet broadcasters and stations means less diversity overall, and less opportunity for the unlimited spectrum of Internet radio to become a discovery tool for curious listeners and a launching platform for smaller artists. Internet radio features thousands of channels in the narrowest of genres as well as personalized services (LAUNCHcast) and recommendation systems (Pandora), while FM radio (where it still plays music) plays the same songs over and over and the total number of satellite channels is less than five hundred. I am a satellite radio subscriber and can honestly say it doesn't even come close to representing the diversity I get from my personal LAUNCHcast station. Listeners and artists ultimately lose if this infinite spectrum of music choice evaporates or even shrinks to just a few players. The implications for innovation in the space are catastrophic.

Which is why we are asking you to take action RIGHT NOW. We are supporting DIMA (a trade organization representing Yahoo!, AOL, MTV, Pandora, Real, Live365, and many others) and the SAVE NET RADIO campaign on this issue. Please take five minutes right now to visit SaveNetRadio.org, let your representatives know how you feel about this issue, send this post and these links to a friend, and put a link to SaveNetRadio.org on your blog, MySpace page, or site. We are on a very tight timetable to get our voices heard in Washington and legislation introduced before May 15th when the first payment is due under this new ruling. We need your help in making sure Congress is paying attention to this issue.

Thanks for your understanding and support,
Ian C Rogers - Yahoo! Music

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I have to disappear for another week or two until I get some other things done. I wish I didn't have to, but it's only fair to the people who depend on me. I have a todo list long enough for two or three people.

"Hello, my name is Richard and I have a time management problem."

You know, this hobby of mine would be a lot easier if I didn't have to do everything myself.

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OK folks, what do you think of this? Should I start encoding/re-encoding my videos at 640×480/360? I'm thinking "no."

Advantages: Maybe Apple will pay attention to me. Yeah, right.
Disadvantages: That's a ton of extra bandwidth, multiplied by a few thousand viewers, and that's just my podcast. Besides, does anyone out there in Internetland actually have an Apple TV?

Greetings from the iTunes Podcasting Team:

Apple TV is here, and podcasts are making a big move into the living room. We want all of them to look as good as possible, so we have three video formatting recommendations for you. Also note that we have just posted a revised and expanded technical spec. Finally, the Apple Worldwide Developers Conference is coming up. There's a major focus on developers of content in addition to developers of software.

Recommendations for Formatting Video Podcasts

1. If you're encoding your video podcast at 320×240, please increase the resolution to either 640×480 or 640×360 (depending on the aspect ratio of your source files). Why? Because video podcasts at this resolution look great on Apple TV and still port to video iPods. Lower resolution podcasts might also work on both platforms, but they don't look nearly as good on a widescreen TV. As always, make sure to test any encoding changes you make to ensure device compatibility. QuickTime 7.1's "Export to iPod" function will ensure that a video file is encoded at a width of 640 and is iPod-compatible.

2. It's best not to create two different podcast feeds for different resolutions. By doing so, you dilute the popularity of your podcast and reduce exposure in our charts. It's better to have one feed high in the charts than two that are lower.

3. If your source files are 16:9, stick with that aspect ratio. Don't add letterboxing to make them 4:3. By doing so, you prevent the video from expanding to fill a 16:9 widescreen TV and instead end up with black space on all four sides. Also, your original source files should be at least 640 pixels wide.

Of course these are just recommendations. We understand that there are good reasons for 320×240 (bandwidth bills) and 720p (looks fantastic). Do whatever makes the most sense for your show. For more information on formatting video, see the recently updated spec:

http://www.apple.com/itunes/store/podcaststechspecs.html

To see a sample of excellent podcasts that also look great with Apple TV, check out the Apple TV Podcast Showcase.

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I've been spending so much time in front of the computer lately that I messed up my back and had to stay home from work. It feels like someone used my kidneys for punching bags. When my kids came home from school this afternoon they took turns walking up and down my back in front of the TV, which made the pain at least tolerable for a few hours. Right now I'm helping myself to a big heaping glass of awamori on the rocks so I'll be drunk enough to sleep despite the pain. (If sake is "rice wine" then awamori is "rice whiskey." I like the flamable stuff. It exfoliates my intestines.)

Back pain has to be pretty close to the worst pain there is. It's hard to think of anything other than how much it hurts. I can understand why some people with chronic back pain lose the will to live.

On the bright side, the next time I have a bad day I'll be able to say to myself, "Things could be worse. At least my back doesn't hurt."

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