Recently in Internet Radio Category

Apparently my opinions, my worries and concerns over some of the management decisions at MMO Radio and TMSB, were not welcome. I have been let go from TMSB. I have had a few moments today to reflect on the facts. I have now been released from 2 radio stations within the span of a year. I have looked at the reasons for these and whether they were right. I find I was right in the opinions I expressed in both cases. Both were behaving at the best suspiciously and secretive, and at worst, unethically. In WoW Radio's case, at least at the time, they were acting illegally.

I am sad to be off the radio again, likely for a long time, since I have no desire to have to adapt to another stations way of doing things and suffer yet another stations politics, but I know I was right. In firefly's first episode, the lead character, Malcolm Reynolds says "We've done the impossible and that makes us mighty." Well, I feel I have done the right thing, and that makes me feel pretty damned strong right now. I will be sure, if the radio status changes, to let you all know what I will be doing, and where I am going to be going. Be well, and see you in game.

With a mic that works, and an app that is back to full functionality, I am happy to say that I will soon be returning to the airwaves of MMO Radio. Not sure when my first show back will be, but I will be doing all I can to make it an awesome show for all tuned in. It aggravated me that for so long, I could not do a show, could not share my love of music and Warcraft. That is all over now.

Thanks to a good friend, yes, I seem to have many of them I find, I have a new headset en route to me. It is going to take awhile to get to her, then to me, but it has begun the process. The new headset, the Plantronics Audio 100, is an even better one than I had before, which is really awesome. The old one was, I thought, a really nice headset. When I was on CBC Radio, I was in envy and awe of their studio. It had awesome equipment. This headset reminds me a lot of the headphones they had there in the studio, though their mic's were apart from the headset, hanging from the ceiling. I am very excited to get this headset!

I had a really good show yesterday on MMO Radio. I had a lot of listeners, enjoyed the music I played, and I hope bumped us on the shoutcast rankings. I love it when I can play music people like, and bring smiles to faces. I even got away with a little country music without too many angry cries of pain. Tonight I have my talk show, Know Your Role(Partying with the Paladin is my Tuesday show) and I hope it is as good. Alas, it will likely be the same old, where the numbers are awesome until I begin talking, then they drop. I am planning to do some contests, we'll see what they are, but I hope to regain the former glory I had on my old station.

I have made 2 Frappr maps, one for my Radio show, and one for my Podcast. I was thinking of making one for my blog, but as I have very little belief that I have many readers, I felt I would see how the other two things fared first. So feel free to go ahead and put your name on the Frappr maps for Know Your Role, and/or CGP, and let me know where you all live. I am interested to see how many put pins in, and how wide spread you all are.

I have a plan for Know Your Role tomorrow night, my WoW talk show on MMO Radio. I discovered that tomorrow is the 1 year birthday of the World of Warcraft retail launch, I plan a big show with a number of people I have met through my year of World of Warcraft, and we will be talking about the past year, and years to come in World of Warcraft. The show begins at 8 PM CST, and I hope a number of you will be listening, even if you are not a fan of World of Warcraft. [Update: There is a new give the gift of Warcraft offer up on the WoW site, so if you are wanting to play WoW, give me an email and I will toss you a coupon code to get the game for $20.]

I am happy, nay overjoyed to announce that this coming Wednesday I will be doing my regular Wednesday show, Know Your Role, at it's new home on MMO Radio, though at a slightly different time than normal. As you may have read, I got fired from WoW Radio for wanting them to follow the law, and do things right, but now I have been invited to join the staff of MMO Radio, and will be doing my normal 2 shows a week there. I will be doing Tuesdays and Wednesdays, very similar to what I was doing on the old station, except a little different in times.

My Tuesday music show, Partying with the Paladin, will be 12-3 PM EST on Tuesdays, and my Wednesday show, Know Your Role, will be on 9 PM to 12 midnight EST. I hope that you all will tune in to my show, and give me your feedback. With the changes between the two, I might be a bit in getting used to the move, but I promise I will give you the shows you deserve as quickly as I can. As for archiving, I will have to talk with the people at MMO Radio to see where they are thinking on the matter, and will get back to you as soon as I can in this very place, and on my shows.

It is said that all good things must come to an end. Well, an overall good thing has come to an end for me, at least in one respect. I have been involved with WoW Radio since it's owner posted on the WoW forums back almost a year ago now. I had already found myself addicted to WoW, and found the idea of radio about it and for it's players would be an awesome idea, be it talk or music. The station launched around mid October, and was a near immediate hit. We crushed competitor after competitor, and my show, and the station's audience, grew quickly.

I moved my show to an RP fan base after I gave in and began to play on the RP servers exclusively. Well, a few hours ago, I got pulled into Team Speak, and was informed I was fired. The reasons were many, most of which I consider to be Bullshit, especially the information I received after that they would never allow me to Blizzcon, because the owner was afraid of me ruining the carefully cultivated reputation with Blizzard, and that from the beginning of the process, many got the impression that there was no other possible resolution. Alas, I am not done, keep tuned here for more info.

After some unfortunate downtime recently, the server is progressing nicely, and the DJ's are beginning to regain their former glory, and expanding our audiences. It will be nice to not have to worry about how much bandwidth each listener is gobbling up, and be able to do what we need. My show, soon to be renamed Know Your Role, will soon have a Role Playing basis, and will be changing the way things go. Also, we will be expanding our shows to include more DJ's, and should soon be premiering a new DJ to do the show during the Tuesday scheduled downtime. Things go well, and things will improve. That is the best thing about WoW Radio, we never lie down and take it, we always get back up and keep fighting. Tune in sometime.

I have avoided blogging much of what goes on with WoW Radio here, but much has gone on the last month or so that I can no longer resist. About a month or so ago, the owner of WoW Radio and the station manager, athalus and Dervish are their usernames, began negotiations with a company called Radio iTG about a merger. Athalus was interested in a co operational, even footing type of merger, with WoW Radio keeping it's identity but becoming a division of iTG. iTG would still be the parent, but WoW Radio would have some independence. It was pointed out to the staff in the meeting this evening that this was not the intent of the iTG owner, but instead of us founding the MMO side of iTG, but to become 'just another game', though we could retain staff.

This all came out in a highly charged meeting where WoW Radio dissolved the merger plan, and lost at least 2 staff in the process, as well as 2 D J's that had come over to do shows from iTG. iTG has decided they will still have a WoW portion, and it will be founded on those two shows. As well, they will consider themselves to be in heavy competition with WoW Radio in this market. WoW Radio did gain a co host for the Saturday show, and I will continue to do my Wednesday show as always. You can still find us here, and feel free to tune in tomorrow when we have a blockbuster show, with the first interview of what will surely be many with Caydiem, one of the most popular Community Managers working for Blizzard.

I mentioned yesterday that I spend a lot of time these days in #lockergnome, on the WyldeRyde IRC network when I told you about the person known there as Mirimu who is raising money to get out of an abusive relationship in Minnesota. Well, I have also found a near daily radio show that I have been enjoying lately. Angel, the person from the channel, is a DJ on there from 1-3 AM CST, and the station is Pulse Radio. Angel plays all kinds of music, and gives many opportunities for her listeners to request songs from her playlist, either by AIM, in the game of the night(usually Sims Online, There, or Ragnarök Online), or from the IRC channel. I try to listen every night(she is off Wednesday nights) and usually get a shout out at least once for a request. Listen in, she is a good DJ!

Ahh, now most of these are stories I take great pleasure in reporting. The first batch is about the fact the Webcasters Alliance is moving to file suit against the RIAA over some comments by the Association attorney, where he said he didn't care of 25,000 webcasters fell to royalty demands, because AOL would be offering it's own stations. The Register's take also brings up the sell out by the VOW Eight at the height of the webcaster royalty debate, and points out that this group as well did this to stifle competing stations. John Simson of SoundExchange is quoted "The average hunter spends around $1,800 per year on their hobby. How much do photographers spend?" he told us. "It's all well and good to run a hobby, but Kodak doesn't give out free film. It's only right to pay a reasonable fee," he said.

That is fine, but there is a major difference between paying a few thousand for your hobby and owing tens and hundreds of thousands in back dues and another 10,000+ each month to play music for other people. There is a big difference, an inescapable one, between what the net radio and terrestrial radio stations have to pay to put out music on their respective mediums, and that the RIAA is clearly in favor of only those it likes is ridiculous and illegal. David Lawrence of Online Tonight reasoned that many stations would have their fees covered by their label contacts, but most small webcasters have no such contact, which again proved how unfair the market is towards internet radio stations and their listeners. I don't know what their problem is, but it's wrong.

Next up we have news on the P2P side of things, including news that the boycott of the RIAA is in full swing, with ramp up coming in a couple weeks with a massive email and letter campaign to congressmen, senators, and any other lawmaker willing to take the time. The letters received by the news outlet's have been overwhelmingly in support of a boycott and a ruining of the music label business plan to the point of ensuring that the RIAA and their bought and paid for lawmakers realize the people are speaking and won't be pressured into silence. As well, Grokster announced they will be forming their own lobby in September. The battle for the consumers and users of this stuff is heating up, and secrecy and anonymity are the key's to a long fought battle.

Now on the legal side, we have word that RIAA is suing Puretunes.com, a Spanish music service that is no longer in existence, over the fact it purported to be a legitimate service, when in fact it wasn't. The service, whose ownership is a mass of paperwork and confusion leading to some of the nicest places in the world, was sued in the US because it was hosted in the US on a Cogent network in Virginia. The worst thing is that many of the songs were not only stolen from other services, but the service's maintainers didn't even bother to clean up ID3 tags to remove notations announcing them as having originated from other services like Russian service allofmp3.com. The service is gone, so it is unclear what the RIAA will be able to do, but I wish them the best.

As more context and information comes out about the recent 'webcaster-RIAA settlement', which this article points out, among other things, was between 9 labels and 200 streams all owned by the same company, thus agreeing to pay itself, it becomes clear where this is all going.

"A comment by the RIAA attorney Gary Greenstein at a recent meeting with the Webcaster Alliance - representing a range of netcasters, including the smaller 'casters and nonprofits - puts AOL's strategy into perspective. The meeting took place at the RIAA's office on January 29. According to two people present at the meeting, Greenstein explained that the RIAA didn't care if 25,000 webcasters in the US went out of business because AOL streams 200 channels of music, and the streaming media listener would then have to get their music from AOL. And AOL pays its bill to the RIAA."

So, since AOL happily pays itself, they can be the basis of an agreement that no one who is really affected by this agreement wants? Isn't this a little like Yahoo being the basis of the original recommendation to the LoC, when Yahoo had run away from the business and was no longer paying anything? The article goes on to repeat much of what has been said, and ignored, for the last year and a half(or at least it feels like that and more). the RIAA has cleared up the real logic of why they want the webcasters, specifically the small ones, shut down by exorbitant rates, they want the market commercialized and shrunken to the point of controllability, thus making them far more money. The scary thing is that AOL also owns WinAmp and Shoutcast, 2 main tools in smaller webcasting.

Ok, so :gnome: got tossed from OLT because of it. Now eBay has removed the auction for a number of former CNET staff, who were asking a price in the high six figures. Now, I cannot locate a shred of info on what is going on at CNET, but it clearly is not good. I heard word that CNET radio is going down, but I have to hope not as that is my only connection to live OLT. Do any of you, have any info on CNET and what the hell is going on with the radio? Hmm, This is audio of Brian Cooley saying they stopped their web stream and closed their Silicon Valley station. Damn! This is the press release. Does anyone know of every day web streams of OLT?

Clear Channel, owner of hundreds of terrestrial radio stations, told it's stations that if they wished to continue their webcasting, it would have to be done on their own costs, including the costs of Library of Congress rates that could easily put some of those stations in the millions of dollars per year in fees. In response, the majority of their stations, all but 509, dropped their webcasts immediately, leading to questions by the rest of the industry of the viability of the industry when the big players leave so suddenly. I hope for sure that this does not affect other players in the industry.

Ok, so this is a little more high end than the launch of :gm:, instead some friends of a co worker, for now we shall call him Dizz, are launching their new label, Blizzard Radio.com to accompany their internet radio station. I am told that Dizz will be spinning at the event, he and another coworker play on Blizzard Radio on Wednesday's, and they play Trance. If you live or are going to be in the City of Winnipeg and this is your type of music, come find me. I will be the guy that has ear plugs in and is laughing at the DJ. It should be fun, and one will never find a bette time for $5. REMOVED FOR PORN POP UP!

So, two sources of much needed support for American webcasters has come, from two sources that I am sure webcaster's thought would never pipe up. As Jazy put it tonight, Jessie Helms finally did something right(isn't he retiring?) by killing the bill that I mentioned was engineered to break up the webcaster's, and he has put out a very thoughtful and well said press release thanking Sensenbrenner for his attempt, and pointing out why exactly he killed the bill that was to kill the small webcaster's and save very few. The bill, I might add, which was substituted mid process from 2 paragraphs to 18 pages, from a deal that would provide much needed relief to one that would save a few self centers casters.

The second avenue of support comes at a very much needed time. The support comes from across the pond, a British group called Stage4, who has pledged to do a cross ocean webcast. "This Saturday, 23rd November 2002, stage4 shall be reaching across the Atlantic and uniting two continents, using only a cheap "Radio Shack" microphone, a collection of CDs and a syringe full of enthusiasm. Starting from 9pm GMT stage4 shall be webcasting live from London (in collaboration with PirateTV.net), showcasing their usual eclectic mix of music, talk & mishaps building up to a 2am GMT handover to our rogue squadron of stage4'ers who will be broadcasting live from New York." What about us in Canada? Shouldn't we show our support as well?

So, Susan Pickering, former executive director of the International Webcasting Association, has come out today in an interview stating it is her opinion that the RIAA engineered and planned the dissent that has arisen among those in the web casting business. This plan led to a small group of greedy web caster's making a deal with the devil, err, RIAA to replace the industry wide helping, 2 paragraph long HR.5469 with an 1287 page screw job meant to help only a few small webcasters. In the end, the measure was thankfully killed in the Senate by Sen. Jesse Helms. This interview and others are the beginning of a series by the Webcaster's Alliance.

Well, there is a new group out there that is founded by some of those who were members of VoW and other webcaster's groups, those groups that were either ineffectual or plain old back stabbing in their methods to try to get the LoC fees overturned if not all together removes. In the wake of the only just death of HR.5469 a few days ago, this was not totally unexpected, and it appears that this group will both be for the good of the whole industry, from big to small, but will actually do something other than wait. The group is called the Webcaster Alliance, and it looks to have a lot of promise. One thing though, work on the site, ok? Bleh!

Well, it is only 3 days left until the Internet Radio industry is decimated, and the law that was supposed to save them, for another 6 months at least, is expected to hit and die on the floor of the senate today. That, sadly, is the best thing, as it was proposed to save the industry, but it was perverted, even to the point of co-signers not knowing it had changed and how, to only save the top few. Even one of the negotiators admits that nothing will change for the smaller webcasters, even though the bill was supposed to delay it until something could be done. Either way, if the choice is between most dying or all, the right thing is for all, if the few are those few that backstabbed, betrayed, and sold out the industry for their own survival.

So, the VoW are trying, just as Berman did for his bill, and Hollings for his own, to justify what they did. They are also trying to correct misrepresentations, although they fail in both. It is clear that based on the document that came out of it that the RIAA got the greediest, most self serving webcaster's into one room and told them they could either save their own asses, or watch the industry die. Pressure from the Chairman of the House Judiciary committee James Sensenbrenner didn't help either, and in my opinion was undue pressure on a group that could not represent the whole industry. They spoke for themselves, not the webcaster's industry. Their wallet's were negotiated for and no more.

This is a pathetic group of people, who masqueraded as industry advocates looking to save all of internet radio, who have shown that, given the chance, they would simply save their own asses, and sell out the entire web casting industry to save their own 13 stations. Yes, their stated goal was to save commercial webcaster's, and for that alone it is clear the biased self interest they had when they entered that room. If their stated goal and their goal in negotiations was to save the industry, then they would have had a right to negotiate a deal, but they only went in their to save 13 stations, and they walked out with a sweet deal that succeeded in that goal. Congratulations, Mr. Hanson, Mr. Hodges and the rest, you succeeded in saving yourselves at the sacrifice of the rest of the industry.

So, in fine political bull shit and screwing over, the RIAA seems to have succeeded in screwing over more then 90% of the webcaster's in the US. It seems some last minute amendments were made, really last minute, to the point of killing the fact that many webcasters were hounding their reps to get the bill passed, and now a bill has passed congress that will kill a lot of those stations. This, I think, is a fatal flaw in the US legal system, in that it is far too easy for a small group, thirteen commercial webcasters, to ruin a law that was intended to save an industry, and which now becomes one that saves only those 13, an still forces most of the industry to go dark in just a few days. This is the height of deceit.

I cannot see why the makers of the bill would ever agree to this bloody amendment, one which went from a 2 paragraph addition, to a 30 page radio killer. It is sad to see some of the big names in the industry, some of the first to shut down due to the Library of Congress rulings, backing this pact written in blood, one that will kill an industry simply to save their own collective asses. I have read some of their reasoning, like SomaFM's Rusty Hodge who says "You don't think you could get a record/music store to pay $6 a day for a few audio ads?" but a good point is made by Brian Hurley, who runs the Detroit Industrial Underground station "Not for three listeners." This allows for hobbyists, but who in their right minds is going to pay $2,000 just to stream a few songs to their friends? No one who values their money.

Kurt Hanson of the RAIN newsletter is the most shocking supporter, and shows how selfish the industry has become. The Register writes: VoW evangelist RadioIO's Mike Roe, who hosts the list, describes VoW as "a loose affiliation" of "small commercial webcasters who shared a common goal: to save small commercial webcasting - nothing more, nothing less." Well, they followed that mandate to a tee, and saved no one but themselves, the 'small' commercial webcasters. VoW may have begun the negotiations where no one else did, but let's not forget that the RIAA was not interested in negotiating to save the industry, and instead they accepted an offer to save a few select webcasters, killing the majority of an industry like they wanted in the first place.

So, I note that the Congress of the US of A has finally done something right, and I note something against the wishes of the RIAA. Today in congress they passed a bill that would make the rates paid by webcasters a per revenue rate, instead of the per song per listener rate that the Library of Congress passed back this summer. It still need to be passed and debated by the senate, but it is clear that the RIAA will not be happy if this gets passed. this is welcome reprieve for the webcasters and even allows them a six-month moratorium on fee assessment. Now, you all need to put the pressure on the senators in Washington to make sure they realize how important this is to be passed.

So, you thought Carp would never go through. You thought, in fairness, the DMCA would never cause this much trouble for your favorite webcaster. Well, this time you are needed. The Small-Business Webcasters Act is meant to keep the hounds of the RIAA away form the wounded corpses of radio stations until legal challenges can be heard and justice done. There is one problem. It is voted on today. Therefore, contact your congressman this morning, have their aids or assistants pass the word that their reelection stands on their approval of HR 5469. This act must pass, or within days thousands more webcaster's will be forced to begin paying unreal fees and unfair requirements, many going offline instead. Do. It. Now!

So, Doc and :mike: both pointed out that yesterday was the day the CARP rates take effect, and anyone who was still broadcasting owing dues all the way back to 98 or as far back as they were broadcasting. I am, surprised I have not heard of more stations going offline Saturday night, but I think a lot are hoping on a legal interception, or some nefarious deals with the devilthe RIAA. I would hate to see the radio stations that make deals, but would hate to see what will happen to stations like WolfFM and so many others. Anyone know of an updated list of stations gone down?