That's a lot of gold.
March 10, 2009 2:46 AM Subscribe
tl:dr: Apparently the RIAA wants the government to impose a new set of royalties on radio stations because not enough people are listening to radio stations.
It's ....just.......I dunno.........I......*head asplode*
posted by Avenger at 4:37 AM on March 10, 2009 [1 favorite]
It's ....just.......I dunno.........I......*head asplode*
posted by Avenger at 4:37 AM on March 10, 2009 [1 favorite]
You helped to sell a million Larry The Cable Guy records, and you want me to do what for you, exactly?
posted by kuujjuarapik at 4:55 AM on March 10, 2009 [12 favorites]
posted by kuujjuarapik at 4:55 AM on March 10, 2009 [12 favorites]
I just listened to over-the-air radio for the first time in a month. I only do so when I'm driving in a rental car.
The medium is dying as a music format. RIAA can help kill it faster, thus hastening their own demise. Even U2 has to advertise on TV to let people know they have a new record.
It's the end of the world as we've known it, and I feel fucking fine about it.
posted by fourcheesemac at 5:20 AM on March 10, 2009 [3 favorites]
The medium is dying as a music format. RIAA can help kill it faster, thus hastening their own demise. Even U2 has to advertise on TV to let people know they have a new record.
It's the end of the world as we've known it, and I feel fucking fine about it.
posted by fourcheesemac at 5:20 AM on March 10, 2009 [3 favorites]
Radio is long, long dead as a music format. So are CDs.
posted by DU at 5:23 AM on March 10, 2009 [1 favorite]
posted by DU at 5:23 AM on March 10, 2009 [1 favorite]
Performers and record companies would just find a way to opt out of such payments because radio stations would prefer to play the opt-out acts. Eventually, everyone would opt out and no payments for airplay would be made.
posted by pracowity at 5:29 AM on March 10, 2009
posted by pracowity at 5:29 AM on March 10, 2009
If the buggy whip manufacturers would have had the power to manipulate Congress like the RIAA does, we would all still be shoveling "road apples*".
*Road apples - the intestinal byproduct of eating hay, deposited by the southern end of a northbound horse. Indistinguishable from any pronouncement or policy of the RIAA.
RIAA - see Bag of dicks.
posted by Enron Hubbard at 5:33 AM on March 10, 2009 [2 favorites]
*Road apples - the intestinal byproduct of eating hay, deposited by the southern end of a northbound horse. Indistinguishable from any pronouncement or policy of the RIAA.
RIAA - see Bag of dicks.
posted by Enron Hubbard at 5:33 AM on March 10, 2009 [2 favorites]
You helped to sell a million Larry The Cable Guy records, and you want me to do what for you, exactly?
Show Grandma a good time, that's all.
posted by mannequito at 5:33 AM on March 10, 2009
Show Grandma a good time, that's all.
posted by mannequito at 5:33 AM on March 10, 2009
What's that unpleasant smell?
(sniffs)
Ah. Desperation.
posted by Joe Beese at 5:36 AM on March 10, 2009
(sniffs)
Ah. Desperation.
posted by Joe Beese at 5:36 AM on March 10, 2009
The reason radio is dying is the same reason that newspapers are dying. It's not because the new medium is better, it's because the old medium has become so bad.
Centrally programmed stations playing 10 songs in high rotation, 20 in medium, 30 in low, and a couple of others on Thursday morning are failing because people don't want that.
There are radio stations with strong listener bases -- KCBO in Boulder, CO (a Clear Channel Station, no less!), KPIG (Freedom, CA, and affiliates) and WXRT (Chicago, IL) leap to mind. There are a few others. They're doing well, because they're offering music in variety, and they don't tie themselves to a time period. Oh, all also offer original things. KCBO's Studio C broadcasts are legendary, and rightfully so. WXRT offers live shows, a day dedicated to new music, strong coverage of local music, and an almost scary level of dedication to the city. All have real DJs with personalities. All *have* personalities.
They are a very tiny minority of the dial, however. Most of the dial isn't willing to take "chances". Which is why, as a class, they're not doing well. Of course, they're still the fastest way for a recording company to get a hit -- get it on the radio spun six times a day, and you'll get a hit.
Which is why this move by RIAA is stupid.
Wait, RIAA doing something stupid?
Am I in reality again?
posted by eriko at 5:41 AM on March 10, 2009 [11 favorites]
Centrally programmed stations playing 10 songs in high rotation, 20 in medium, 30 in low, and a couple of others on Thursday morning are failing because people don't want that.
There are radio stations with strong listener bases -- KCBO in Boulder, CO (a Clear Channel Station, no less!), KPIG (Freedom, CA, and affiliates) and WXRT (Chicago, IL) leap to mind. There are a few others. They're doing well, because they're offering music in variety, and they don't tie themselves to a time period. Oh, all also offer original things. KCBO's Studio C broadcasts are legendary, and rightfully so. WXRT offers live shows, a day dedicated to new music, strong coverage of local music, and an almost scary level of dedication to the city. All have real DJs with personalities. All *have* personalities.
They are a very tiny minority of the dial, however. Most of the dial isn't willing to take "chances". Which is why, as a class, they're not doing well. Of course, they're still the fastest way for a recording company to get a hit -- get it on the radio spun six times a day, and you'll get a hit.
Which is why this move by RIAA is stupid.
Wait, RIAA doing something stupid?
Am I in reality again?
posted by eriko at 5:41 AM on March 10, 2009 [11 favorites]
I think empowering millions of individuals, many of whom *are* willing to "take chances" does mean the new medium is better.
posted by DU at 5:46 AM on March 10, 2009 [1 favorite]
posted by DU at 5:46 AM on March 10, 2009 [1 favorite]
Hasn't anyone told the RIAA there's no motherfucking gold actually inside the goose? Why the fuck are they still coming at it with a knife and that crazy look in their eyes?
posted by Talez at 5:49 AM on March 10, 2009 [11 favorites]
posted by Talez at 5:49 AM on March 10, 2009 [11 favorites]
They still haven't figured out that their business model is finished.
posted by gallois at 5:52 AM on March 10, 2009 [1 favorite]
posted by gallois at 5:52 AM on March 10, 2009 [1 favorite]
Oh the anarcho-capitalist! Where would we be without your wonderful and optimistic predictions regarding the industry!
There will still be plenty of money to be made promoting crap music. That is until we as a species evolve out our irrational need to feel like we belong to a group. The RIAA are just pissed they aren't the only ones anymore.
posted by Talez at 6:00 AM on March 10, 2009 [1 favorite]
There will still be plenty of money to be made promoting crap music. That is until we as a species evolve out our irrational need to feel like we belong to a group. The RIAA are just pissed they aren't the only ones anymore.
posted by Talez at 6:00 AM on March 10, 2009 [1 favorite]
It's not because the new medium is better, it's because the old medium has become so bad.
I agree. Even WERU, the community radio station in my town, is pretty godawful: Most of the people at the station are the same people who were there twenty years ago, which means it's a bunch of old hippies/yuppies who are getting increasingly lazy and complacent.
Most of what they play now seems to be bluegrass (and more bluegrass) along with some shows that involve playing the same Putomayo compilation straight for an hour.
Then, when they do fundraisers they get all self-congratulatory and boast about how wonderful they are, how they're at the forefront of independent broadcasting, a "voice of many voices".
Sure, the mainstream radio is pretty fucking terrible, but if the alternative is some graying dude with a ponytail playing music for the dwindling population of graying dudes with ponytails, I'd rather just not listen to the radio at all.
posted by dunkadunc at 6:07 AM on March 10, 2009 [4 favorites]
I agree. Even WERU, the community radio station in my town, is pretty godawful: Most of the people at the station are the same people who were there twenty years ago, which means it's a bunch of old hippies/yuppies who are getting increasingly lazy and complacent.
Most of what they play now seems to be bluegrass (and more bluegrass) along with some shows that involve playing the same Putomayo compilation straight for an hour.
Then, when they do fundraisers they get all self-congratulatory and boast about how wonderful they are, how they're at the forefront of independent broadcasting, a "voice of many voices".
Sure, the mainstream radio is pretty fucking terrible, but if the alternative is some graying dude with a ponytail playing music for the dwindling population of graying dudes with ponytails, I'd rather just not listen to the radio at all.
posted by dunkadunc at 6:07 AM on March 10, 2009 [4 favorites]
KCRW (public radio) has been growing the last 15 years. The music they play in the morning and the music shows in the evenings are incredible. Music you simply won't hear anywhere else - that is, until the commercial radio picks up on some of the artists and plays them into the ground.
You can stream KCRW on the internet, as well, and pick from live stream (news and music) or all music. I listen to KCRW in my car, and have the three local antennae programmed in to cover almost everywhere I drive. Me and thousands of other listeners are living proof that it isn't the format that's hurting radio, it's the commercial radio format.
Of course, the ability to grab one's iPod and drive around with it cuts into radio time. I personally don't want to miss the live streams, so I keep the radio on. Every now and then I tune to one of the local pop/rock or pop/country or even hip hop stations, and it makes me want to stab myself in the ears. My family refers to the current pop/rock style as "Earnest Rock", since the artists sound so damn earnest and sincere and omg-this-song-is-so-important. Of course they all sound that way, and that's why they are insipid.
If radio offered what people want, they'd listen. Some people like to stretch a little, some people never ever want to leave their comfort zone. When commercial radio panders to the latter, by definition it can't grow past the size of the target demographic. Radio stations that cater to the former are harder to format, but the rewards are tremendous - for both the listener and the station. Of course, there is one demographic that has grown the last few years - demand for norteno music...
posted by Xoebe at 6:09 AM on March 10, 2009 [3 favorites]
You can stream KCRW on the internet, as well, and pick from live stream (news and music) or all music. I listen to KCRW in my car, and have the three local antennae programmed in to cover almost everywhere I drive. Me and thousands of other listeners are living proof that it isn't the format that's hurting radio, it's the commercial radio format.
Of course, the ability to grab one's iPod and drive around with it cuts into radio time. I personally don't want to miss the live streams, so I keep the radio on. Every now and then I tune to one of the local pop/rock or pop/country or even hip hop stations, and it makes me want to stab myself in the ears. My family refers to the current pop/rock style as "Earnest Rock", since the artists sound so damn earnest and sincere and omg-this-song-is-so-important. Of course they all sound that way, and that's why they are insipid.
If radio offered what people want, they'd listen. Some people like to stretch a little, some people never ever want to leave their comfort zone. When commercial radio panders to the latter, by definition it can't grow past the size of the target demographic. Radio stations that cater to the former are harder to format, but the rewards are tremendous - for both the listener and the station. Of course, there is one demographic that has grown the last few years - demand for norteno music...
posted by Xoebe at 6:09 AM on March 10, 2009 [3 favorites]
So... the RIAA isn't trying to reclaim their gold and platinum records to send to Cash4Gold? Cuz that's what I clicked the links expecting. Soon, I suppose.
also, will.i.am is now testifying before Congress, after becoming our nation's first news hologram. Truly, these are interesting times.
posted by ScotchRox at 6:13 AM on March 10, 2009 [1 favorite]
also, will.i.am is now testifying before Congress, after becoming our nation's first news hologram. Truly, these are interesting times.
posted by ScotchRox at 6:13 AM on March 10, 2009 [1 favorite]
KCRW (public radio) has been growing the last 15 years.
Don't know that one, but the public/community radio stations have been gems for years. Sometimes crappy gems (to me, others like those shows.)
KDHX in St. Louis is a good one.
posted by eriko at 6:31 AM on March 10, 2009 [3 favorites]
Don't know that one, but the public/community radio stations have been gems for years. Sometimes crappy gems (to me, others like those shows.)
KDHX in St. Louis is a good one.
posted by eriko at 6:31 AM on March 10, 2009 [3 favorites]
Actually there's a local station, clear channel owned even that plays a pretty good mix of songs, from lots of genera, they play great alternative from the 90s "the 90s at noon!" and they to a ton of promotion for local bands and local acts. I find new music on there all the time.
One of the bands I discovered through them was The Envy Corps which was great.
Oh, and is owned by clear channel. So the argument that "radio is dying because they play the same crap all the time" is kind of hard to believe. I think Clear Channel understands that they have to be better then an Mp3 player loaded with 30 songs from the top 10 to compete. Or at least they seem to understand that at this particular station.
If radio is dying, I think it does have a lot to do with technological changes. Satellite radio and Mp3 players do kind of obsolete radio. I think for a lot of people, it's something to listen to in the car and that's it. I'd never want to listen to the radio while working out (as opposed to playing mp3s) for example.
Also, I think if I had a longer commute I'd be more serious about arranging mp3 CDs to listen too in the car.
posted by delmoi at 6:45 AM on March 10, 2009
One of the bands I discovered through them was The Envy Corps which was great.
Oh, and is owned by clear channel. So the argument that "radio is dying because they play the same crap all the time" is kind of hard to believe. I think Clear Channel understands that they have to be better then an Mp3 player loaded with 30 songs from the top 10 to compete. Or at least they seem to understand that at this particular station.
If radio is dying, I think it does have a lot to do with technological changes. Satellite radio and Mp3 players do kind of obsolete radio. I think for a lot of people, it's something to listen to in the car and that's it. I'd never want to listen to the radio while working out (as opposed to playing mp3s) for example.
Also, I think if I had a longer commute I'd be more serious about arranging mp3 CDs to listen too in the car.
posted by delmoi at 6:45 AM on March 10, 2009
The Envy Corps was played on a Clear Channel station? Bizarre.
That gives me hope- maybe The Velvet Teen is getting airplay somewhere.
posted by Dr-Baa at 6:49 AM on March 10, 2009
That gives me hope- maybe The Velvet Teen is getting airplay somewhere.
posted by Dr-Baa at 6:49 AM on March 10, 2009
Oh speaking of IP insanity, Check this out. There's a bill in congress now that would make it illegal for government funded scientists to give away their research papers for free in 'open access' journals, and instead be forced to have them published in journals which take the copyrights and publish them in journals with expensive paid subscriptions.
The open access journals have been a reaction to the rent-seeking nature of these science journals and scientists have used the internet to build their own, open systems for peer review (that's my understanding anyway). This bill would ban that for scientists who take government money (i.e. all of them)
posted by delmoi at 6:51 AM on March 10, 2009 [15 favorites]
The open access journals have been a reaction to the rent-seeking nature of these science journals and scientists have used the internet to build their own, open systems for peer review (that's my understanding anyway). This bill would ban that for scientists who take government money (i.e. all of them)
posted by delmoi at 6:51 AM on March 10, 2009 [15 favorites]
I enthusiastically second Xoebe regarding KCRW. It's phenomenal. I was in high school during what I consider the golden age of FM radio, the late seventies. I remember the experience of listening to the radio as a continual process of discovery, with deejays playing their obscure favorites. Then the programmers came along to serve us the same damn shit over and over.
When I listen to KCRW I'm right back in that wonderful discovery experience. I'll hear a song and stop what I'm doing to make sure I find out who it was by. And the music spans a range of genres. I highly recommend KCRW.
posted by Turtles all the way down at 6:56 AM on March 10, 2009
When I listen to KCRW I'm right back in that wonderful discovery experience. I'll hear a song and stop what I'm doing to make sure I find out who it was by. And the music spans a range of genres. I highly recommend KCRW.
posted by Turtles all the way down at 6:56 AM on March 10, 2009
The Envy Corps was played on a Clear Channel station? Bizarre.
Well, it is their home town station :P
posted by delmoi at 6:56 AM on March 10, 2009
Well, it is their home town station :P
posted by delmoi at 6:56 AM on March 10, 2009
Cassette sales are way down too.
Have you ever seen a framed gold cassette? A very sad looking object.
Guess the RIAA can't spay paint the future.
posted by quarterframer at 6:58 AM on March 10, 2009 [1 favorite]
Have you ever seen a framed gold cassette? A very sad looking object.
Guess the RIAA can't spay paint the future.
posted by quarterframer at 6:58 AM on March 10, 2009 [1 favorite]
And there's KUSC if you're into classical. (Full Disclosure, my University, my Network). Now playing: 'Sir Edward Elgar - Symphony No. 2 in E-flat Op 63'.
Only station programmed in my car radio...
posted by zengargoyle at 7:09 AM on March 10, 2009
Only station programmed in my car radio...
posted by zengargoyle at 7:09 AM on March 10, 2009
A couple responses from someone who's working in the radio industry and spends lots of time thinking about this stuff and trying to convince the powers that be:
delmoi - MP3 players may make radio obsolete, but satellite radio isn't going to. There's just not enough people out there willing to pay for something they're used to getting for free, which is why Sirius and XM had to merge. The problem with satellite radio is that its primary value - uninterrupted streams of less-mainstream music - has been eclipsed by MP3 players to the point where the companies have had to start running ads over the airwaves because the subscription fees alone weren't cutting it. Besides, you're still at the mercy of what a program director decides to play - at least with an MP3 player you can program whatever you want whenever you want. And when you factor in satellite radio's general lack of localism - no local weather, sports, or news unless you live in a major metropolitan area - it really has nothing to offer over terrestrial radio at all. I'll be surprised if the newly-merged XM/Sirius company survives another few years without making some drastic changes.
DU - Radio is not quite dead as a music format. Dying? On life support? Maybe. There's still a lot of promotion that's done over radio, and bands still use it. When I worked at a classic rock station, we'd receive the new albums from the likes of Alice Cooper and Heart and play the tracks as a way of promoting the albums. We'd also give them away - much of my job was to get these promotional premiums for the station, and it was not difficult to do. Hell, we even got to interview Mr. Cooper when his latest album dropped back then. A lot of musicians still see the value of radio as a promotional tool - it's up to the program directors to make the most of it. After all, it's hard to call up a podcast and instantly win tickets to a U2 concert, isn't it?
The trick with radio is that there's still life left in it, but not in the overly focus-tested, afraid to challenge or inconvenience anyone Clear Channel model. I've been in the industry in varying capacities for the last five or six years of my life and it frustrates the hell out of me to see stations changing to the least objectionable programming model, programming long blocks of nothing but the safest music. For some stations, that's fine - the one I work for now bills itself as a "workplace station" and has to work within that window. For others, it's limiting their appeal - if you're going to play the same music over and over, why don't I just put on my iPod and I can listen to the song exactly as many times as I want?
What needs to happen, and where I hope the industry is headed, is an increased focus on localism. I want, as eriko said, "a scary level of dedication" to the areas stations broadcast from. That means locally-produced news, concerts, sporting events, and special programming. In the current technological and economic climate, the surest way for radio to hasten its descent into irrelevance is to keep focusing solely on music. Radio has to offer listeners something they cannot get anywhere else, and that is localized content. I want to be able to tune into a station and hear live play-by-play of a college baseball game, or hear community leaders discussing events and issues in the city, or hell, why not go back to the golden years of radio and put on a quiz or variety show? NPR does this, and it works out exceedingly well for them. Get some local sponsors to provide prizes or advertising, and you're in business.
Radio is hurting, but it's only because we're using it incorrectly.
And to the point of this article - the sooner the RIAA goes belly-up the better, especially for radio stations.
posted by HostBryan at 7:10 AM on March 10, 2009 [8 favorites]
delmoi - MP3 players may make radio obsolete, but satellite radio isn't going to. There's just not enough people out there willing to pay for something they're used to getting for free, which is why Sirius and XM had to merge. The problem with satellite radio is that its primary value - uninterrupted streams of less-mainstream music - has been eclipsed by MP3 players to the point where the companies have had to start running ads over the airwaves because the subscription fees alone weren't cutting it. Besides, you're still at the mercy of what a program director decides to play - at least with an MP3 player you can program whatever you want whenever you want. And when you factor in satellite radio's general lack of localism - no local weather, sports, or news unless you live in a major metropolitan area - it really has nothing to offer over terrestrial radio at all. I'll be surprised if the newly-merged XM/Sirius company survives another few years without making some drastic changes.
DU - Radio is not quite dead as a music format. Dying? On life support? Maybe. There's still a lot of promotion that's done over radio, and bands still use it. When I worked at a classic rock station, we'd receive the new albums from the likes of Alice Cooper and Heart and play the tracks as a way of promoting the albums. We'd also give them away - much of my job was to get these promotional premiums for the station, and it was not difficult to do. Hell, we even got to interview Mr. Cooper when his latest album dropped back then. A lot of musicians still see the value of radio as a promotional tool - it's up to the program directors to make the most of it. After all, it's hard to call up a podcast and instantly win tickets to a U2 concert, isn't it?
The trick with radio is that there's still life left in it, but not in the overly focus-tested, afraid to challenge or inconvenience anyone Clear Channel model. I've been in the industry in varying capacities for the last five or six years of my life and it frustrates the hell out of me to see stations changing to the least objectionable programming model, programming long blocks of nothing but the safest music. For some stations, that's fine - the one I work for now bills itself as a "workplace station" and has to work within that window. For others, it's limiting their appeal - if you're going to play the same music over and over, why don't I just put on my iPod and I can listen to the song exactly as many times as I want?
What needs to happen, and where I hope the industry is headed, is an increased focus on localism. I want, as eriko said, "a scary level of dedication" to the areas stations broadcast from. That means locally-produced news, concerts, sporting events, and special programming. In the current technological and economic climate, the surest way for radio to hasten its descent into irrelevance is to keep focusing solely on music. Radio has to offer listeners something they cannot get anywhere else, and that is localized content. I want to be able to tune into a station and hear live play-by-play of a college baseball game, or hear community leaders discussing events and issues in the city, or hell, why not go back to the golden years of radio and put on a quiz or variety show? NPR does this, and it works out exceedingly well for them. Get some local sponsors to provide prizes or advertising, and you're in business.
Radio is hurting, but it's only because we're using it incorrectly.
And to the point of this article - the sooner the RIAA goes belly-up the better, especially for radio stations.
posted by HostBryan at 7:10 AM on March 10, 2009 [8 favorites]
What's going to happen is that everyone is going to have the internet in their car, home, boat, bathroom, closet, whatever. On the internent will be on demand everything anytime, anywhere.
Unless we head back to the stone age this year.
posted by Ironmouth at 7:17 AM on March 10, 2009
Unless we head back to the stone age this year.
posted by Ironmouth at 7:17 AM on March 10, 2009
Oh yes, KDHX. They have basic genres at each time in the day (blues, pop, country) but the all-over-the-map variety is what brings me back. And it is, truly, community radio - almost entirely listener-funded. I've learned of more good music from them...and the eastern-Euro-folk-music show ingratiated me with my Bosnian neighbors. ("Wait...what's that white guy doing listening to stuff in 31/12 time?")
posted by notsnot at 7:17 AM on March 10, 2009
posted by notsnot at 7:17 AM on March 10, 2009
I eagerly signed up for Sirius back when Howard Stern switched over. 150+ channels and I only listen to the Howard Stern show for about 3 hours per day, Monday to Thursday (if he's not on vacation). And that's usually streaming over my PC (for which they want to charge me extra). The commercials are horrible, even worse than when he was on terrestrial radio (Cash for Gold, Ashley Madison, etc...).
The music channels were a novelty for a while (neat to hear The Smiths over the air etc...). But then you're kinda, meh!
I am cancelling my subscription at year end. I would do so sooner, but I prepaid around $125 for 12 months service. (Oh and they tried to doublecharge me for that).
My grand foray into the world of satellite radio has been less than satisfying.
Here endeth the lesson.
posted by punkfloyd at 7:22 AM on March 10, 2009 [2 favorites]
The music channels were a novelty for a while (neat to hear The Smiths over the air etc...). But then you're kinda, meh!
I am cancelling my subscription at year end. I would do so sooner, but I prepaid around $125 for 12 months service. (Oh and they tried to doublecharge me for that).
My grand foray into the world of satellite radio has been less than satisfying.
Here endeth the lesson.
posted by punkfloyd at 7:22 AM on March 10, 2009 [2 favorites]
I'm going to respectfully disagree about KDHX. It has too long the darling of what passes for indie media here and has essentially morphed into the organization of greying ponytails referenced by dunkadunc, with the kind of insular hostility to new DJs and their new music I might expect from the tribal elders of a tiny hamlet. The music played during the morning and afternoon commutes (peak radio hours) is usually: 1) dead white guys. 2) dead black guys. Later, when they mix it up, we get Ugandan Bandstand and a lot of reggae. Even the guys who used to play "current" music are pushing music two decades old. And Beyonce. How much do I not need to hear "Single Ladies" on your once a week show, two weeks running?
Now, admittedly, I think there should be a place for this. I like Democracy Now. I get an occasional kick out of that one Native American-focused show that always starts with "The Spirit of Sin." However, the idea of KDHX as a radio station where you'll hear a lot of current music by up and coming musicians makes me giggle. The DJs who do play anything like that tend to be buried in odd slots and receive little promotion, or they've just discovered the oldies.
Once KYMC was sold off to a Religious Repeater, the number of CDs I was purchasing because I heard something I liked on the radio has dropped to about once a month. Unless you're willing to count what I call "mallcore" as college radio, St. Louis has nothing to offer on-air for fresh, interesting music. Just one program on my drive with current stuff I haven't heard before would own me.
Yeah, the RIAA is busy inventing more stupid; the organization is like some kind of sad, doomed parasite who, in its frenzy for more, more, more, will eventually kill its host and be left fused to a corpse, without any way to spawn or move on. The radio industry itself, however, isn't doing music any big favors, either. Radio has more problems than just the RIAA. NPR helped kick the little stations when they were down; so much for that underdog status they wanted. Media consolidation has been a big part of it, but the underlying hassle that goes with trying to keep a Low Power FM station alive is also a problem. Given that the stated purpose of LPFM is to provide community-oriented content, it seems that religious repeater stations ought to be excluded, as they are the very opposite. The FCC is busy looking for nipples instead of carrying out its mission.
The radio, once a prime source of music I'd end up buying, has lost me.
posted by adipocere at 7:37 AM on March 10, 2009 [3 favorites]
Now, admittedly, I think there should be a place for this. I like Democracy Now. I get an occasional kick out of that one Native American-focused show that always starts with "The Spirit of Sin." However, the idea of KDHX as a radio station where you'll hear a lot of current music by up and coming musicians makes me giggle. The DJs who do play anything like that tend to be buried in odd slots and receive little promotion, or they've just discovered the oldies.
Once KYMC was sold off to a Religious Repeater, the number of CDs I was purchasing because I heard something I liked on the radio has dropped to about once a month. Unless you're willing to count what I call "mallcore" as college radio, St. Louis has nothing to offer on-air for fresh, interesting music. Just one program on my drive with current stuff I haven't heard before would own me.
Yeah, the RIAA is busy inventing more stupid; the organization is like some kind of sad, doomed parasite who, in its frenzy for more, more, more, will eventually kill its host and be left fused to a corpse, without any way to spawn or move on. The radio industry itself, however, isn't doing music any big favors, either. Radio has more problems than just the RIAA. NPR helped kick the little stations when they were down; so much for that underdog status they wanted. Media consolidation has been a big part of it, but the underlying hassle that goes with trying to keep a Low Power FM station alive is also a problem. Given that the stated purpose of LPFM is to provide community-oriented content, it seems that religious repeater stations ought to be excluded, as they are the very opposite. The FCC is busy looking for nipples instead of carrying out its mission.
The radio, once a prime source of music I'd end up buying, has lost me.
posted by adipocere at 7:37 AM on March 10, 2009 [3 favorites]
My grand foray into the world of satellite radio has been less than satisfying.
It took me almost an hour yesterday to make sure my XM subscription will not be renewed. Most of that was waiting on hold, listening to messages saying that I was on hold because so! many! people! wanted to subscribe to XM. Between those messages was musak from one of the many XM stations I was never interested in with a healthy sprinkling of fuzz and static for that authentic XM experience.
When I spoke to the XM rep and said I didn't want to renew, he asked why and I told him it was because the killed Lucy. He tried to offer deals and extensions and so on until I said "I have an iPhone and Pandora. I don't need you."
He then canceled by renewal with no further complaint.
posted by robocop is bleeding at 7:43 AM on March 10, 2009
It took me almost an hour yesterday to make sure my XM subscription will not be renewed. Most of that was waiting on hold, listening to messages saying that I was on hold because so! many! people! wanted to subscribe to XM. Between those messages was musak from one of the many XM stations I was never interested in with a healthy sprinkling of fuzz and static for that authentic XM experience.
When I spoke to the XM rep and said I didn't want to renew, he asked why and I told him it was because the killed Lucy. He tried to offer deals and extensions and so on until I said "I have an iPhone and Pandora. I don't need you."
He then canceled by renewal with no further complaint.
posted by robocop is bleeding at 7:43 AM on March 10, 2009
Oh, don't get me started on satellite radio.
A local burrito joint plays it--the music is a nice change from my regular fare (they either have blues or bluegrass on), but then the music is interrupted by an advertisement that says, more or lesss, that I'm listening to uninterrupted music without advertising. W. T. F.
posted by jepler at 7:48 AM on March 10, 2009
A local burrito joint plays it--the music is a nice change from my regular fare (they either have blues or bluegrass on), but then the music is interrupted by an advertisement that says, more or lesss, that I'm listening to uninterrupted music without advertising. W. T. F.
posted by jepler at 7:48 AM on March 10, 2009
What's going to happen is that everyone is going to have the internet in their car, home, boat, bathroom, closet, whatever. On the internent will be on demand everything anytime, anywhere.
Yes, basically if you are a content provider, and your content can be expressed digitally, there's a very good chance that whether you like it or not your content will end up getting distributed on the Internet.
The big winners in this transition are the content providers that happened to already have infrastructure suitable for Internet communication: cable television companies, landline phone companies, and wireless phone companies. Since the cost of creating a competing infrastructure from scratch is so large, they still benefit from the barrier to entry while also gaining new customers as their infrastructure gets used for more and more things. Industries like radio, on the other hand, are left with obsolete infrastructure and have to compete with others distributing more or less the same content on the Internet.
posted by burnmp3s at 7:52 AM on March 10, 2009
Yes, basically if you are a content provider, and your content can be expressed digitally, there's a very good chance that whether you like it or not your content will end up getting distributed on the Internet.
The big winners in this transition are the content providers that happened to already have infrastructure suitable for Internet communication: cable television companies, landline phone companies, and wireless phone companies. Since the cost of creating a competing infrastructure from scratch is so large, they still benefit from the barrier to entry while also gaining new customers as their infrastructure gets used for more and more things. Industries like radio, on the other hand, are left with obsolete infrastructure and have to compete with others distributing more or less the same content on the Internet.
posted by burnmp3s at 7:52 AM on March 10, 2009
DU wrote: "Radio is long, long dead as a music format."
Just because most radio stations suck doesn't mean they all do. One of the nicest surprises of moving to Minnesota was finding The Current, a public radio station that plays some amazing stuff, promotes local bands and is really the only thing I listen to any more. There are also any number of good college stations if you're lucky enough to live near the right university.
delmoi wrote: "There's a bill in congress now that would make it illegal for government funded scientists to give away their research papers for free in 'open access' journals"
This is especially dumb as NIH requires all funded work to be submitted to a database so that the public can freely access it. The last paper I published went to an open-access journal, and based on the experience I'm more than happy to send more papers their way. Anything blocking this would be downright idiotic. Anyone voting for such a move ought to be forcibly removed from office.
posted by caution live frogs at 7:57 AM on March 10, 2009
Just because most radio stations suck doesn't mean they all do. One of the nicest surprises of moving to Minnesota was finding The Current, a public radio station that plays some amazing stuff, promotes local bands and is really the only thing I listen to any more. There are also any number of good college stations if you're lucky enough to live near the right university.
delmoi wrote: "There's a bill in congress now that would make it illegal for government funded scientists to give away their research papers for free in 'open access' journals"
This is especially dumb as NIH requires all funded work to be submitted to a database so that the public can freely access it. The last paper I published went to an open-access journal, and based on the experience I'm more than happy to send more papers their way. Anything blocking this would be downright idiotic. Anyone voting for such a move ought to be forcibly removed from office.
posted by caution live frogs at 7:57 AM on March 10, 2009
Oops: Meant to link this - The Current. Listen live, and remember to support public radio. (Corporate radio can largely go to hell.)
posted by caution live frogs at 7:59 AM on March 10, 2009 [1 favorite]
posted by caution live frogs at 7:59 AM on March 10, 2009 [1 favorite]
Don't forget to make your requests for Yo La Tengo on Friday.
posted by roll truck roll at 8:12 AM on March 10, 2009
posted by roll truck roll at 8:12 AM on March 10, 2009
Several people here have pointed to internet radio as the salvation for the current f'd up terrestrial radio situation, but the the same guys marching this bill out there have already saddled intenet radio with steadily increasing streaming rates, unrealistic recordkeeping expectations, and a whole bunch of of other issues you've already heard about on the blue. They know internet and mobile is where it's at, which is why they laid the groundwork for taxing the christ out of it early on.
The whole system needs a hard reset, or the same twats up there right now saying "radio needs to pay us for promoting our music" will keep collecting checks that they don't deserve until eternity.
posted by bhance at 8:12 AM on March 10, 2009
The whole system needs a hard reset, or the same twats up there right now saying "radio needs to pay us for promoting our music" will keep collecting checks that they don't deserve until eternity.
posted by bhance at 8:12 AM on March 10, 2009
I can't think of a single good reason, minus the ubiquity of iPods, why FM radio can't see a comeback. Advertising is still an important business model, FM radios are still in cars, and people are commuting further and further, especially in this shrinking economy. What it take, however, is an enema -- breaking up the Clear Channel monopoly and bring a systemwide return to quality, with cutting-edge local DJs, true variety, and actually making large strides toward offering what the listeners want. But it's a laissez-faire free market for the big guys and the system is totally controlled by a couple of corporations who care only about the short-term bottom line and have little interest in quality, so I guess all I can do is pine for what might be.
posted by crapmatic at 8:13 AM on March 10, 2009
posted by crapmatic at 8:13 AM on March 10, 2009
Just one of my smaller axes to grind; Clear Channel is not a monopoly, Clear Channel does not dictate playlists to every station, Clear Channel is not the BeAllEndAll Microsoft of the Radio world. It's easy to take a brush and paint somebody as the big badguy, but in this as in most cases it is not accurate. When I google CC right now, I see they've been in the process of selling more then half of their stations, and are still losing money hand over fist. They never stated Dixie Chicks could not be played on their radio, that was Cumulus. They account for less than 25% of most major media markets, look at a cumulative ratings site here, drill down by market, and check out who the owners are.
I don't think I've had this rant on MeFi before, but it's part of my ongoing series; "The More You Know: Using Easy Labels You Heard From Other People Actually Makes You Miss The Real Story", these will be available on 8-Track and Cassette Tape as the UELYHFOPAMYMTRS or URKFURRHURF at your local music and spoken word retailer.
posted by cavalier at 8:29 AM on March 10, 2009 [5 favorites]
I don't think I've had this rant on MeFi before, but it's part of my ongoing series; "The More You Know: Using Easy Labels You Heard From Other People Actually Makes You Miss The Real Story", these will be available on 8-Track and Cassette Tape as the UELYHFOPAMYMTRS or URKFURRHURF at your local music and spoken word retailer.
posted by cavalier at 8:29 AM on March 10, 2009 [5 favorites]
And now that I'm done with that, radio can survive, see examples in this thread and/or Jack or other "new" formats that actually challenge the listener with not the same 12 or 14 song rotation. It can be done. It's just going to take a changing of the guard to get it done on most stations. Also, you can bet your ass that CBS Radio, Citadel, Clear Channel, Cox, Cumulus, Emmis, et al are investing in streaming/digital delivery. They can't be foolish enough to think like the RIAA that their model will survive indefinitely unevolved.
posted by cavalier at 8:31 AM on March 10, 2009
posted by cavalier at 8:31 AM on March 10, 2009
Finally, this gold record picture idea is dumb as shit.
posted by cavalier at 8:32 AM on March 10, 2009
posted by cavalier at 8:32 AM on March 10, 2009
adipocre: I'm sad to hear about KYMC. A friend and I had a show on it, back about 11 years ago, when I was in 8th grade. Doing the show (we called it Radio Fuzz after a while) was what introduced me to the music my friends were listening to (Reel Big Fish, Mighty Mighty Bosstones, Soul Coughing, The Urge). The guy on after us was into hair metal. I met Kip Winger (which... I know...). I'm sad to see it go.
posted by gc at 8:41 AM on March 10, 2009
posted by gc at 8:41 AM on March 10, 2009
No offense and not to muss your lawn, but if your best examples are getting exposure for new albums from Alice Cooper and Heart, then I wouldn't call the radio format particularly relevant.
posted by DU at 9:01 AM on March 10, 2009 [1 favorite]
posted by DU at 9:01 AM on March 10, 2009 [1 favorite]
Also, you can bet your ass that CBS Radio, Citadel, Clear Channel, Cox, Cumulus, Emmis, et al are investing in streaming/digital delivery.
How exactly are they doing this though? Buying better servers than Google and Amazon? Creating better online music streaming services than Last.fm and Pandora? Buying up new ranges of the RF spectrum to provide high-speed wireless by outbidding Verizon or AT&T? Creating better consumer devices to deliver their content to than Apple's?
This is not the kind of problem that can be solved by throwing money at it, at least not in the same way that those companies sustained themselves by buying up as many stations as they could. Instead, surviving means beating out a lot of new competitors that are better suited for doing all of the new things that will be required to stay alive. It's possible that the radio stations could adapt their business model to compete in a world where everyone can have streaming audio wherever they want, but they don't have many more advantages for doing well in that environment than anybody else with a truckload of money and a good idea.
posted by burnmp3s at 9:08 AM on March 10, 2009
How exactly are they doing this though? Buying better servers than Google and Amazon? Creating better online music streaming services than Last.fm and Pandora? Buying up new ranges of the RF spectrum to provide high-speed wireless by outbidding Verizon or AT&T? Creating better consumer devices to deliver their content to than Apple's?
This is not the kind of problem that can be solved by throwing money at it, at least not in the same way that those companies sustained themselves by buying up as many stations as they could. Instead, surviving means beating out a lot of new competitors that are better suited for doing all of the new things that will be required to stay alive. It's possible that the radio stations could adapt their business model to compete in a world where everyone can have streaming audio wherever they want, but they don't have many more advantages for doing well in that environment than anybody else with a truckload of money and a good idea.
posted by burnmp3s at 9:08 AM on March 10, 2009
Also, I continue to be completely flummoxed by the love that Kindle is getting, with the ongoing context of the RIAA/MPAA stupidness.
If Virgin Records (say) put out a proprietary music player that played only music files that they packaged and sold, would anyone buy it? Hell no.
When Circuit City (was it?) put out a proprietary movie player that played only movie files that they packaged and sold, did anyone buy it? Hell no.
So why on earth is anyone buying a proprietary book reader that shows only book files that Amazon packages and sells?
I think the only explanation here is that mp3 players and viewing-movies-on-computers already existed prior to any (hypothetical) attempts by corporations to monetize the endpoint. When reviews of the Kindle are written, there's nothing in there about "unlike Project X, it's not free and open" because Project X doesn't exist.
posted by DU at 9:19 AM on March 10, 2009
If Virgin Records (say) put out a proprietary music player that played only music files that they packaged and sold, would anyone buy it? Hell no.
When Circuit City (was it?) put out a proprietary movie player that played only movie files that they packaged and sold, did anyone buy it? Hell no.
So why on earth is anyone buying a proprietary book reader that shows only book files that Amazon packages and sells?
I think the only explanation here is that mp3 players and viewing-movies-on-computers already existed prior to any (hypothetical) attempts by corporations to monetize the endpoint. When reviews of the Kindle are written, there's nothing in there about "unlike Project X, it's not free and open" because Project X doesn't exist.
posted by DU at 9:19 AM on March 10, 2009
What's going to happen is that everyone is going to have the internet in their car, home, boat, bathroom, closet, whatever. On the internent will be on demand everything anytime, anywhere.
This is true too. I could, if i wanted to, stream music right off the internet using my cellphone while driving. I can also put a ton of mp3s right on my cellphone. But who wants to drive with earphones? Of course there are probably car stereos that will play off bluetooth or other connectivity systems, once things like that are ubiquitous, then listening to the radio will really be dead (or at least in a lot more trouble)
It will be interesting to see how the audio infoscape will be setup in terms of the User Interface. Obviously there needs to be a way to surf these things without crashing.
posted by delmoi at 9:23 AM on March 10, 2009
This is true too. I could, if i wanted to, stream music right off the internet using my cellphone while driving. I can also put a ton of mp3s right on my cellphone. But who wants to drive with earphones? Of course there are probably car stereos that will play off bluetooth or other connectivity systems, once things like that are ubiquitous, then listening to the radio will really be dead (or at least in a lot more trouble)
It will be interesting to see how the audio infoscape will be setup in terms of the User Interface. Obviously there needs to be a way to surf these things without crashing.
posted by delmoi at 9:23 AM on March 10, 2009
No one has brought up HD Radio, which is an odd venture, but something that seems to add satellite-like variety to terrestrial stations. A friend of mine who lives in San Francisco loves it because of the Chill with Alice, a channel that only plays downtempo/chill stuff. Prior to HD, there would have been no chance that a terrestrial station would devote themselves to Massive Attack and the like in current times, but now they can.
Clear Channel killed much localism in an effort to cut costs. Though they cannot legally be a monopoly, the level of nation-wide ownership is/was amazing/overwhelming. Some places have more autonomy, but most smaller communities don't. Jack FM isn't that great - it's iPod Radio (random songs, no "radio personalities" rambling on). From anecdotal evidence (a radio engineer I know), Jack and the other generic name stations start with a spike of listenership, but that drops out as people get tired of the randomness and detached sounds of someone else's iPod.
That's where college radio can help out, if you're willing to listen to some rambling DJs who might not realize you're listening. Some don't have much broadcast power and won't reach beyond the campus parking lots, while others are devoted to classical music or other single genres. But some are amazing. KCSB in Santa Barbara, CA might have been the origins of Sean Hannity, but their current line-up is quite eclectic.
posted by filthy light thief at 9:24 AM on March 10, 2009
Clear Channel killed much localism in an effort to cut costs. Though they cannot legally be a monopoly, the level of nation-wide ownership is/was amazing/overwhelming. Some places have more autonomy, but most smaller communities don't. Jack FM isn't that great - it's iPod Radio (random songs, no "radio personalities" rambling on). From anecdotal evidence (a radio engineer I know), Jack and the other generic name stations start with a spike of listenership, but that drops out as people get tired of the randomness and detached sounds of someone else's iPod.
That's where college radio can help out, if you're willing to listen to some rambling DJs who might not realize you're listening. Some don't have much broadcast power and won't reach beyond the campus parking lots, while others are devoted to classical music or other single genres. But some are amazing. KCSB in Santa Barbara, CA might have been the origins of Sean Hannity, but their current line-up is quite eclectic.
posted by filthy light thief at 9:24 AM on March 10, 2009
DU - Kindle does play other formats, and only the ebooks from the Amazon store are limited by DRM. You can still load ebooks from other sources. It's more like iPod in the early days - there were other options, but no one pushed the product as hard, or got as much publicity. Adoption of the Kindle means support of eBooks on the whole, and eventually there will be more substantial alternatives.
posted by filthy light thief at 9:27 AM on March 10, 2009
posted by filthy light thief at 9:27 AM on March 10, 2009
I think the only explanation here is that mp3 players and viewing-movies-on-computers already existed prior to any (hypothetical) attempts by corporations to monetize the endpoint. When reviews of the Kindle are written, there's nothing in there about "unlike Project X, it's not free and open" because Project X doesn't exist.
I think the main problem is that isn't any convent way to pirate books. Nobody has book scanners in their homes, but everyone had VCRs and Tape Recorders. With the move to DRM, people were losing the ability to do things they had always been able to do. But with Kindle, they're not.
That's probably the biggest psychological hurdle.
posted by delmoi at 9:32 AM on March 10, 2009
I think the main problem is that isn't any convent way to pirate books. Nobody has book scanners in their homes, but everyone had VCRs and Tape Recorders. With the move to DRM, people were losing the ability to do things they had always been able to do. But with Kindle, they're not.
That's probably the biggest psychological hurdle.
posted by delmoi at 9:32 AM on March 10, 2009
delmoi: see Ford's Sync System, or the Blaupunkt and miRoamer. Once you pair the audio gear to whatever's providing the data, I think the UI is just part of the traditional radio knobs-and-buttons interface.
(Also, KALX and KUCR both rock, as long as we're giving shout-outs)
posted by bhance at 9:39 AM on March 10, 2009
(Also, KALX and KUCR both rock, as long as we're giving shout-outs)
posted by bhance at 9:39 AM on March 10, 2009
I think the main problem is that isn't any convent way to pirate books.
I don't know about the convents, but the monasteries were painstakingly duplicating books for centuries.
*runs away*
posted by Strange Interlude at 9:47 AM on March 10, 2009 [10 favorites]
I don't know about the convents, but the monasteries were painstakingly duplicating books for centuries.
*runs away*
posted by Strange Interlude at 9:47 AM on March 10, 2009 [10 favorites]
I think the main problem is that isn't any convent way to pirate books
Um, actually...
posted by ChurchHatesTucker at 10:19 AM on March 10, 2009
Um, actually...
posted by ChurchHatesTucker at 10:19 AM on March 10, 2009
Physical books. With music or movies, the manufacturer has to put it out in a machine readable way. With books, they don't. They can take their ball and go home if they don't like how the marketplace is working, at least right now they can, before everyone has a commodity ebook reader and demands ebooks.
posted by DU at 10:30 AM on March 10, 2009
posted by DU at 10:30 AM on March 10, 2009
delmoi wrote Nobody has book scanners in their homes
I do. Or by "book scanner" do you mean something other than full duplex scanner with an automatic document feeder? They don't really cost much, less than $200 for a cheap model.
Of course, you have to destroy the book to scan it that way.
posted by sotonohito at 10:42 AM on March 10, 2009
I do. Or by "book scanner" do you mean something other than full duplex scanner with an automatic document feeder? They don't really cost much, less than $200 for a cheap model.
Of course, you have to destroy the book to scan it that way.
posted by sotonohito at 10:42 AM on March 10, 2009
KUSC split off a long time ago... current USC station is KSCR, currently playing 'Divine Heresy - Failed Creation', (heavy metal), now... The Doobie Brothers, 'Jesus Is Just Alright'.
In my travels to various SoCal schools, the best part of the trip is always getting into range of the college station. Otherwise radio is dead to me. (blah, blah, blah... work at USC).
posted by zengargoyle at 11:14 AM on March 10, 2009
In my travels to various SoCal schools, the best part of the trip is always getting into range of the college station. Otherwise radio is dead to me. (blah, blah, blah... work at USC).
posted by zengargoyle at 11:14 AM on March 10, 2009
My town of 30,000 manages to support three public radio stations. I would say radio is alive and well here.
posted by Foam Pants at 11:26 AM on March 10, 2009
posted by Foam Pants at 11:26 AM on March 10, 2009
I'll also reject the idea that conventional radio is dead. Sure, broadcast options are expanding. And I love my podcasts and iPod, and I like internet radio quite a bit.
But wireless broadband internet is decades away from being ubiquitous in the U.S., and satellite may be failing and has recurring charges. So, for listening everywhere -- especially listening to something you haven't pre-programmed into your roaming media device -- radio's it for the time being.
And radio doesn't totally suck. Over the last year and a half I've spent most of my time in cosmopolitan Orem, UT and in the Sacramento "metro" area. And guess what? There's actually some pretty awesome radio stations in both places. In Orem there's two high school radio stations that have an interesting rotation, plus KRCL operating out of Salt Lake City that has a great range of talk and music programming. Plus the usual NPR station. Sacramento has two college stations (one's a mix of NPR and jazz+eclectic music, one's sortof alt-indieish) and another repeater from the bay. I can get hours of entertainment and information in both places by just flipping between 3-4 stations I enjoy.
I can buy the idea it might not be the same everywhere, but given that Sacramento and Orem aren't exactly world-famous cultural centers, it's hard for me to imagine that this isn't available anywhere else.
(Plus, I actually like Bluegrass and Putamayo compilations.)
posted by weston at 11:31 AM on March 10, 2009 [1 favorite]
But wireless broadband internet is decades away from being ubiquitous in the U.S., and satellite may be failing and has recurring charges. So, for listening everywhere -- especially listening to something you haven't pre-programmed into your roaming media device -- radio's it for the time being.
And radio doesn't totally suck. Over the last year and a half I've spent most of my time in cosmopolitan Orem, UT and in the Sacramento "metro" area. And guess what? There's actually some pretty awesome radio stations in both places. In Orem there's two high school radio stations that have an interesting rotation, plus KRCL operating out of Salt Lake City that has a great range of talk and music programming. Plus the usual NPR station. Sacramento has two college stations (one's a mix of NPR and jazz+eclectic music, one's sortof alt-indieish) and another repeater from the bay. I can get hours of entertainment and information in both places by just flipping between 3-4 stations I enjoy.
I can buy the idea it might not be the same everywhere, but given that Sacramento and Orem aren't exactly world-famous cultural centers, it's hard for me to imagine that this isn't available anywhere else.
(Plus, I actually like Bluegrass and Putamayo compilations.)
posted by weston at 11:31 AM on March 10, 2009 [1 favorite]
My issue with the radio has long been that you either have to enjoy one of about three genres that radio stations play (mainstream rock, country, or hip-hop) or wait until late at night on a particular day of the week for the couple of hours that they play something different. I've been, on again and off again, a DJ for one of those "Hey, for the next couple of hours, here's something completely different from the rest of our programming" shows, but honestly, a source of media that is only useful for a couple of hours a week isn't a useful one to me.
posted by Pope Guilty at 11:41 AM on March 10, 2009
posted by Pope Guilty at 11:41 AM on March 10, 2009
delmoi:
There's a bill in congress now that would make it illegal for government funded scientists to give away their research papers for free in 'open access' journals, and instead be forced to have them published in journals which take the copyrights and publish them in journals with expensive paid subscriptions.
It wouldn't do that.
It says that the federal agency giving the grant can't require that you publish your results in a free or copylefted journal, or that you give them the manuscript, as NIH currently requires. You'd still be free to do so.
posted by ROU_Xenophobe at 11:58 AM on March 10, 2009 [1 favorite]
There's a bill in congress now that would make it illegal for government funded scientists to give away their research papers for free in 'open access' journals, and instead be forced to have them published in journals which take the copyrights and publish them in journals with expensive paid subscriptions.
It wouldn't do that.
It says that the federal agency giving the grant can't require that you publish your results in a free or copylefted journal, or that you give them the manuscript, as NIH currently requires. You'd still be free to do so.
posted by ROU_Xenophobe at 11:58 AM on March 10, 2009 [1 favorite]
Currently playing 'Divine Heresy - Failed Creation'... now... The Doobie Brothers, 'Jesus Is Just Alright'.
So they program their playlists the same way I do at parties? One tenuous and too-clever-by-half connection after another?
posted by rokusan at 12:24 PM on March 10, 2009
So they program their playlists the same way I do at parties? One tenuous and too-clever-by-half connection after another?
posted by rokusan at 12:24 PM on March 10, 2009
i wish i knew where all you people who want variety in programming are. my station just started its fundraiser, and for the 30th year in a row, if we make more than about $25k i'd be very, very surprised. maybe that's pretty good considering we don't have any corporate sponsors and most of our $ comes from song requests @ $10/pop (3 for $25). we do the happy dance of joy for a hundred dollar donation, let alone the $500 check a guy (listener joey--we love you joey!) just handed me the other day. and we work our asses off for it. 24/365.
posted by msconduct at 12:36 PM on March 10, 2009
posted by msconduct at 12:36 PM on March 10, 2009
Oh speaking of IP insanity, Check this out. There's a bill in congress now that would make it illegal for government funded scientists to give away their research papers for free in 'open access' journals, and instead be forced to have them published in journals which take the copyrights and publish them in journals with expensive paid subscriptions.
The open access journals have been a reaction to the rent-seeking nature of these science journals and scientists have used the internet to build their own, open systems for peer review (that's my understanding anyway). This bill would ban that for scientists who take government money (i.e. all of them)
Um, this is kind of late, but you're wrong and you have no reading comprehension skills. The bill doesn't make publishing open-access illegal. It simply forbids the government from requiring open-access publication for taxpayer-funded research. The scientists now have more options than they did before.
Is mandated open-access a good idea? I think so, and the academic publishing industry definitely does suck. But fact-free, ignorant fearmongering is not the right way to approach this issue.
posted by nasreddin at 1:40 PM on March 10, 2009
filthy light thief - Thanks for bringing up HD Radio. My university's station (which I am sort of a consultant for now, having spent much of my undergrad and half my graduate studies working there) just converted to it last year and it's been quite an interesting experiment. One of my fellow graduate assistants oversaw the conversion and created the format for the secondary station (HD2) - indie in the morning, hip-hop in the afternoon, metal through the wee hours of the night (You can check it out here, if you're interested - I really have no stake in it, but I know they work hard on the channel).
It is almost universally stuff that will not get played even on a campus station, and it's really neat to know that we're broadcasting stuff like that. Plus, it's a good training ground for student DJs who are just getting into the station - if they earn their stripes on the HD2 station that has comparatively fewer listeners and therefore less of an audience to hear (and criticize) their mistakes, they get promoted to the main channel of the station. Sort of a minor/major-league thing.
Unfortunately, converting to HD Radio is not without its problems - it's ridiculously expensive and far out of the budget of most stations. There's also the problem of deciding what to program on that second station, though it's much easier to come up with a second channel of programming for radio than it is for TV. Couple that with the technical problems, such as digital radio's smaller signal radius (we have difficulty getting it a mile or less away from the transmitter sometimes, depending ont he area) and its difficulties in going through buildings, and it's going to be a while before HD Radio takes root. That said, it's a really fascinating technology and I want to see it be adopted on a much larger scale.
posted by HostBryan at 2:55 PM on March 10, 2009
It is almost universally stuff that will not get played even on a campus station, and it's really neat to know that we're broadcasting stuff like that. Plus, it's a good training ground for student DJs who are just getting into the station - if they earn their stripes on the HD2 station that has comparatively fewer listeners and therefore less of an audience to hear (and criticize) their mistakes, they get promoted to the main channel of the station. Sort of a minor/major-league thing.
Unfortunately, converting to HD Radio is not without its problems - it's ridiculously expensive and far out of the budget of most stations. There's also the problem of deciding what to program on that second station, though it's much easier to come up with a second channel of programming for radio than it is for TV. Couple that with the technical problems, such as digital radio's smaller signal radius (we have difficulty getting it a mile or less away from the transmitter sometimes, depending ont he area) and its difficulties in going through buildings, and it's going to be a while before HD Radio takes root. That said, it's a really fascinating technology and I want to see it be adopted on a much larger scale.
posted by HostBryan at 2:55 PM on March 10, 2009
You want to know how I know broadcast radio is dying? The talk radio format is encroaching on the FM band. Unimaginative braying and cult of personality schtick is cheap and easy to produce, requires no royalty payments, and feeds the lizard brain. I loved my days as an community radio overnight DJ but if this is where radio ultimately goes, it deserves to die. At least it will have the trailblazing efforts of the RIAA to guide it.
posted by Fezboy! at 3:10 PM on March 10, 2009
posted by Fezboy! at 3:10 PM on March 10, 2009
"But who wants to drive with earphones? Of course there are probably car stereos that will play off bluetooth or other connectivity systems"
Yeah, pretty much all of them now have a 1/8" input jack. Not mine, however, as it was new back in 1997, so I still schlep around a buttload of CDs.
posted by krinklyfig at 6:59 PM on March 10, 2009
Yeah, pretty much all of them now have a 1/8" input jack. Not mine, however, as it was new back in 1997, so I still schlep around a buttload of CDs.
posted by krinklyfig at 6:59 PM on March 10, 2009
"I think the main problem is that isn't any convent way to pirate books"
Audiobooks and ebooks are very, very widely available. I have read almost exclusively pirated audiobooks and books from the library for about 4 years now.
posted by tehloki at 11:57 PM on March 10, 2009
Audiobooks and ebooks are very, very widely available. I have read almost exclusively pirated audiobooks and books from the library for about 4 years now.
posted by tehloki at 11:57 PM on March 10, 2009
Just as a follow-up to this post, the Stranger has a piece today about the Performance Rights Act. Thanks for all the great conversation in here, I'm still not really sure where I come down on it.
posted by arcanecrowbar at 10:44 AM on March 11, 2009
posted by arcanecrowbar at 10:44 AM on March 11, 2009
You want to know how I know broadcast radio is dying? The talk radio format is encroaching on the FM band.
Think of it like this:
AM is cheaper, covers a much wider area, and any tradeoffs in audio quality aren't anywhere near as severe for talk as for music. Basically, by "encroaching on the FM band," talk radio is in effect spending more for less.
The problem with the talk radio of which you speak is that it's increasingly nation-wide rather than local, which feeds into the "cult of personality": If they have a national show, they must know what they're talking about! Now, you know that's bullshit, I know that's bullshit, but plenty of people really, truly believe it.
posted by Sys Rq at 11:36 AM on March 29, 2009
Think of it like this:
AM is cheaper, covers a much wider area, and any tradeoffs in audio quality aren't anywhere near as severe for talk as for music. Basically, by "encroaching on the FM band," talk radio is in effect spending more for less.
The problem with the talk radio of which you speak is that it's increasingly nation-wide rather than local, which feeds into the "cult of personality": If they have a national show, they must know what they're talking about! Now, you know that's bullshit, I know that's bullshit, but plenty of people really, truly believe it.
posted by Sys Rq at 11:36 AM on March 29, 2009
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posted by Pope Guilty at 2:51 AM on March 10, 2009