Skip to main content

Internet radio dead? Maybe time for pirates again

I'd pretty much given up on the whole FM spectrum and decided that, with the advent of cheap streaming radio and podcasts, it didn't much matter anymore.

No need to put up an underground FM station. Just set up a streaming radio station. Get your self broadcasting needs taken care of with a podcast (which often is what's played on an internet streaming radio station)

Ah.. no more. The damned recording industry is trying it's damnest to kill that off too (or worse, turn it into another commercial filled wasteland impossible to listen to).

I'm thinking, maybe it's time again to go for the FM spectrum. Or, at the very least, help some other folks I know that are interested in doing it to get up and running.

SoundExchange Defends Internet Radio Royalty Rates

SoundExchange recently defended a revised streaming radio royalty rate structure as passed by the Copyright Royalty Board (CRB), arguing that the ruling was "fair". In a statement issued Thursday, SoundExchange executive director John Simson called upon broadcasters to consider the revenue needs of artists. "The music created by artists is the main reason why people listen to internet radio, and those artists should be fairly compensated for the value they bring to each webcaster's business," Simson said. "Yet, the webcasters refuse to acknowledge this common sense fact." The declaration follows a swell of protest from major streaming radio groups following the CRB decision, and a subsequent decision by the Board to rehear arguments in the matter. The protest group, which includes heavy-hitters like National Public Radio (NPR), Clear Channel, and AOL, argued that the newly-issued royalty structure would impose needless expenses upon broadcasters, and cause a significant number
of small and midsize companies to exit.

Simson acknowledged those assertions, though he also pointed to the myriad of revenue possibilities open to enterprising broadcasters. "Webcasters have a number of opportunities to maximize revenue with a captive audience attracted by music created by artists through banner ads, pop-ups, video pre-rolls, audio commercials and other avenues of revenue generation," he noted. That argument could affect refreshed CRB deliberations, though both parties are likely to hammer a recording royalty rate structure that offers more balance between the revenue needs of artists and the total budgets of internet broadcasters. The recently-passed schedule, passed March 2nd, replaced royalty calculations based on a percentage of total revenues with a per-play penny rate. The CRB offered to rehear arguments earlier this week.

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

How to set up a pirate radio station- Updated links for 2020

Buy your stuff... I'll go over the list of gear I use for easy setup and tear down.  Obviously, get a transmitter.  I use the  Broadcast Warehouse TX 150 .  150 watts.  It's not cheap though. About $3500 US. And if you prefer, start out with a cheap Chinese knockoff. Here's a list of them (15watts.. which will get you a mile or two no problem, and a lot further if you put your antenna up high). Most are under $200 (and usually include an antenna). Next you need an antenna.  I prefer one of two antenna's.  The first one is an old pirate radio standby called a Comet.  Cheap, easy to set up, easy to tune.   Model number  CFM95SL 5/8 wave. Next, get a cheap laptop.. this is your streaming box.  You'll be streaming from a remote location (i.e. your computer at home or work where you're playing DJ).  I like one with a reasonably big hard drive so I can store music on it that the system defaults to if I lose the internet c...

How to set up pirate radio station in 15 minutes

Here's a post I put up on Reddit recently;  it's in answer to the question of 'what do you do that makes you stand out in a crowd of 200 random people.. prize is $1 MILLION dollars.  Theoretical, of course,  Anyway.. here's the Reddit post they wanted: All-righty then.  It's really simple, but it took a few years to figure out. First, I'll go over the list of gear I use for easy setup and tear down.  Obviously, get a transmitter.  I use the Broadcast Warehouse TX 150 .  150 watts.  Plenty of power for a small town.  Here's the full list of ones they make: http://www.broadcastwarehouse.com/fm-transmitters/60/cat I use the 6th one down from the top- 150W power.  They go up to 1000 watts and down to 1watt.  UK based company, excellent products. Next you need an antenna.  I prefer one of two antenna's.  The first one is an old pirate radio standby called a Comet.  Cheap, easy to set up, easy to tune.  Mod...

Wikipedia keeps deleting the content of our entry. Here's the deleted content.

 So, Wikipedia keeps deleting our postings about KBFR and it's history. Apparently, they can't 'verify' anything, which, is kind of the POINT of Pirate Radio, but whatever. Here's what they deleted: KBFR  ( pirate   radio ) KBFR  ( 95 . 3   FM )  was   a   pirate  ( unlicensed ,  underground )  radio   station   also   known   as   Boulder   Free   Radio ,  based   in   Boulder ,  Colorado .  After   a   brief   revival   in   2006   followed   by   an   FCC   crackdown ,  it   appears   that   the   station   is   off   the   air   for   good . Boulder   Free   Radio   is   unrelated   to   the   FCC - licensed   KBFR   in   Bismarck ,  North   Dakota ,  broadcasting   American   Family   Ra...