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Tuesday, January 16, 2007
Jim Connelly's
Favorite Recordings Of 2006
Monday, January 15, 2007
Jesse Steichen's Favorite Recordings Of 2006
Friday, January 12, 2007
Bill Bentley's Favorite Recordings Of 2006
Wednesday, January 10, 2007
Tom Ridge's Favorite Recordings Of 2006
Thursday, January 4, 2007
Lee Templeton's Favorite Recordings Of 2006
Tuesday, January 2, 2007
Anthony Carew's 13 Fave Albums Of 2006
Monday, March 27, 2006
SXSW 2006: Finding Some Hope In Austin
Tuesday, February 28, 2006
Letter From New Orleans
Saturday, February 18, 2006
Jennifer Przybylski's Fave Albums of 2005
Tuesday, January 31, 2006
Music For Dwindling Days: Max Schaefer's Fave Recordings Of 2005
Wednesday, January 18, 2006
Sean Fennessey's 'Best-Of' 2005
Thursday, January 12, 2006
Lori Miller Barrett's Fave Albums Of 2005
Wednesday, January 11, 2006
Lee Templeton's Favorite Recordings of 2005
Thursday, January 5, 2006
Michael Lach - Old Soul Songs For A New World Order
Wednesday, January 4, 2006
Found In Translation — Emme Stone's Year In Music 2005
Tuesday, January 3, 2006
Dave Allen's 'Best-Of' 2005
Monday, January 2, 2006
Steve Gozdecki's Favorite Albums Of 2005
Tuesday, December 20, 2005
Johnny Walker Black's Top 10 Of 2005
Monday, December 19, 2005
Neal Block's Favorite Recordings Of 2005
Thursday, December 15, 2005
Jenny Tatone's Year In Review
Tuesday, December 13, 2005
Dave Renard's Fave Recordings Of 2005
Monday, December 12, 2005
Jennifer Kelly's Fave Recordings Of 2005
Thursday, December 8, 2005
Tom Ridge's Favorite Recordings Of 2005
Tuesday, December 6, 2005
Ben Gook's Beloved Albums Of 2005
Monday, December 5, 2005
Anthony Carew's Fave Albums Of 2005
Thursday, November 10, 2005
Prince, Spoon And The Magic Of The Dead Stop
Monday, September 12, 2005
The Truth About America
Monday, September 5, 2005
Tryin' To Wash Us Away
Monday, August 1, 2005
A Psyche-Folk Heat Wave In Western Massachusetts
Monday, July 18, 2005
Soggy But Happy At Glastonbury 2005
Monday, April 4, 2005
The SXSW Experience, Part 3: All Together Now
Friday, April 1, 2005
The SXSW Experience, Part 2: Dr. Dog's Happy Chords
Thursday, March 31, 2005
The SXSW Experience, Part 1: Waiting, Waiting And More Waiting
Friday, March 25, 2005
Final Day At SXSW's Charnel House
Monday, March 21, 2005
Day Three At SXSW
Saturday, March 19, 2005
Day Two In SXSW's Hall Of Mirrors
Thursday, March 17, 2005
Report #1: SXSW 2005 And Its Hall Of Mirrors
Monday, February 14, 2005
Matt Landry's Fave Recordings Of 2004
Wednesday, February 2, 2005
David Howie's 'Moments' From The Year 2004
Thursday, January 27, 2005
Lori Miller Barrett's Fave Recordings Of 2004
Thursday, January 20, 2005
Noah Bonaparte's Fave Recordings Of 2004
Tuesday, January 18, 2005
Kevin John's Fave Albums Of 2004
Friday, January 14, 2005
Music For Those Nights: Max Schaefer's Fave Recordings Of 2004
Thursday, January 13, 2005
Dave Renard's Fave Recordings Of 2004
Wednesday, January 12, 2005
Neal Block's Top Ten Of 2004
Tuesday, January 11, 2005
Jenny Tatone's Fave Albums Of 2004
Monday, January 10, 2005
Wayne Robins' Top Ten Of 2004
Friday, January 7, 2005
Brian Orloff's Fave Albums Of 2004
Thursday, January 6, 2005
Johnny Walker (Black)'s Top 10 Of 2004
Wednesday, January 5, 2005
Jennifer Przybylski's Fave Albums (And Book) Of 2004
Tuesday, January 4, 2005
Mark Mordue's Fave Albums Of 2004
Monday, January 3, 2005
Lee Templeton's Fave Recordings Of 2004
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Monday, May 6, 2002
Don Henley's Big Mistake
Neumu's Michael Goldberg writes: In the early days of the Web, those of us attempting to establish online businesses came up against many closed-minded folks who didn't understand what we were up to, and weren't interested in understanding. "They just don't get it," was the way we dismissed their head-in-the-sand approach to innovation and change.
I thought of that dis the other day, when I received an email titled "OPEN LETTER FROM MUSIC COMMUNITY ABOUT WEBCASTERS' 'DAY OF SILENCE.'" This letter, signed by Don Henley, Alligator Records owner Bruce Iglauer, Beggars Group's Martin Mills and others, was a total misreading of the "Day of Silence." It also failed to understand the impending silence of a million-plus approaches to "Net radio" if legislation passes requiring Internet radio "stations" to pay $.14 per song per 100 listeners.
"Let's not forget that the music Webcasters want essentially for free is the backbone of their entire business," went the key paragraph of the "Open Letter." "Somehow these companies have found a way to pay fair market rates for everything else necessary for their business — from bandwidth and computers to rent and furniture. Why should the most important element of their business — the music — be any different?"
My understanding is that, in fact, most Webcasters are quite willing to pay some percentage of their revenue to the owners of the songs they stream. What they don't want to do, and in many cases can't do, is pay a set fee that has no relationship to their revenue.
I understand why Don Henley, a multi-millionaire, would sign such a letter. Independent record promoters are hired by the major labels at huge expense to get songs by Mr. Henley and other major label artists played on commercial radio. He doesn't need Internet radio to get the attention of music fans.
However, I find it difficult to understand the reasoning of Iglauer, or the folks who run Oh Boy Records or some of the other small labels, not to mention the thinking of the marginally popular artists who signed the letter. Bruce Iglauer has run an indie blues label for over 25 years. He knows how hard it is to get the blues played on the radio, how hard it is to sell blues records and the difficulty of getting his music in front of younger generations of music fans who would likely dig it if they only had a chance to hear it. Bruce Iglauer needs Internet radio, though he apparently doesn't know that.
An Internet radio station that played blues records would not be a particularly popular station. It would not have much revenue. And yet, for Alligator Records, to have stations playing its records would be a real boon. Even better than a blues station would be a cool hipster station that mixed blues with indie rock, electronic music and other underground sounds. When people hear good music, music that really touches their soul, they go out and buy it.
The long-term impact of tens of thousands of Internet radio stations playing a diverse mix of music would be very positive for music on the fringe. That's one reason why the RIAA, which represents the five megacorporations that own the major labels, wants to push through this legislation. The companies the RIAA represents spend millions to get their records played on commercial radio. When all the commercial alternative-rock stations play Linkin Park or P.O.D., a certain percentage of kids go buy Linkin Park or P.O.D. albums.
The megacorporations want fewer alternatives. They don't want thousands of Internet radio stations all playing idiosyncratic mixes of music. They don't want radio stations that they can't "buy." They don't want you to hear a song by the French Kicks or The Hives or Cat Power or Mirah, because if you hear that music, you might go buy an album by one of those indie artists, instead of an album by Linkin Park or P.O.D. or one of the other artists on the major labels.
A friend of mine told me of one Internet radio station that plays all kinds of obscure music. This station, which has little revenue, would owe around $200,000 if the proposed legislation were passed (the current proposal would be retroactive to the passing of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act in 1998). There is no question that that station would go under. As would many, many others.
The "Open Letter" ends like this: "Artists and record companies deserve fair compensation for their creations. They have waited patiently for more than three years to be compensated while Webcasters have been building their businesses. Webcasters are not entitled to a free ride or subsidy. The time has come for Webcasters to stop protesting and work cooperatively with artists and record labels to ensure success for all and provide fans with the great music they expect and deserve."
It is unfortunate that those who signed this letter have so little understanding of the Internet. Today, there are few successful Internet businesses. I would hazard that there are no financially successful Internet radio stations. Yet millions of kids who are online are finding out about new music on the Web.
The enlightened approach for artists, labels and music publishers would be to work out a fair percentage of revenues, one that would enable the Internet Webcasting business to develop, and ensure that as that business develops, record owners, writers and publishers would see their fees increase.
It is disheartening to see Don Henley's name on the "Open Letter." Henley has been outspoken in fighting for artists' rights. This time, though, he's supporting legislation that will help those same big entertainment corporations he's been fighting these past few years as it cuts off the Internet channels that could bring the music of newer, less known artists to music fans the world over.
The InsiderOne Daily
Report appears on Monday, Wednesday and Friday at 9 AM PST, except when it doesn't.
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