I wasn't aware of it, but the entire film industry, as we know it today, started in a way very similar to how we're operating today as unlicensed FM broadcasters. It seems the 'owner' of the equipment that made and showed movies at the time had a monopoly that he actively enforced. This man was, interestingly, Thomas Edison.

Here's an excerpt from a book I'm reading by Lawrence Lessig called Free Culture (how big media uses technology and the law to lock down culture and control creativity). It's fairly short and extremely telling:
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Chapter four: "Pirates"

"If "piracy" means using the creative property of others without their permission, if "if value, then right" is true, then the history of the content industry is a history of piracy. Every important sector of 'big media' today, film, records, radio and cable TV, was born of a kind of piracy so defined. The sonsistent sotry is how last generation's pirates join this generation's conutry club, until now.

Film:
the film industry of Hollywood was built by fleeing pirtes. Creators and directors migrated from the East Coast to California in the early twentieth centruy in part to escape controls that patents granted the inventor of filmmaking, Thomas Edison. These controls were exercised through a monopoly 'trust', the motion pictures patents company, and were based on thomas Edisons creative property- patents. Edison formed the MPPC to exercise the rights this creative property gave him, and the MPPC was serious about the ctonrol it demanded. As one commentator tells one part of the story:

"A January 1909 dedline was set for all companies to comply with the license. By February, unlicensed outlaws, who referred to themselves as independents (hmmm.. sound a little like unlicensed radio operators?) protested the trust and carried the business without submitting to the Edison monopoly. In the summer of 1909 the independent movement was in full swing, with producers and theater owners using 'illegal' equipment and imported film stock to create their own underground market.

With the country experiencing a tremendous expansion in the number of nickelodeons, the Patents Company reacted to the independent movement by forming a strong-arm subsidiary known as the General Film Company to block the entry of non-licensed independents. With coercive tactics that ahve become legendary, General Film confiscated unlicensed equipment, discontinued product supply to theaters which showed unlicensed films and, effectively monopolized distribution with th eacquisition of all US film exchanges, except for the one owned by the independent William Fox who defied the Trust even after his license was revolked'.

The Napsters of those days, the "independents" were companies like Fox. And no less than today, these independents were vigorously resisted. "Shooting was disrupted by machinery stolen, and 'accidents' resulting in the loss of negatives, equipment, buildings and sometimes life and limb frequently occurred". That led the independents to flee the East Coast. California was remote enough from Edison's reach that filmmakers there could pirate his inventions without fear fo the law. And the leaders of Hollywood filmaking, Fox most prominently, did just that. Of course California grew quickly, and the effective enforement of federal law eventually spread west. But because patents grant the patent holder a truly 'limited' monopoy (just seventeen years at the time:, by the time enough federal marchals appeared, the patent had expired. A new industry had been born, in part, from piracy of Edison's createve property.
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Wow... have to think on this more, but there are many storie's like this in this book. It appears that most of the folks, including radio, did something similar to get started. Primarily by ignoring or defying the existing 'authority' and doing what they considered the right thing.

And free radio, today, is no different.

Monk@kbfr.org

Time to grow KBFR again. We're looking for 5-10 new DJ's. The way we're set up, we've concluded that, if they're tech savvy enough, they can be anywhere in the world. All they need is to be able to stream at 64kb have some music, a mic and an attitude.

Moving the website and it's got a new design and artwork. Should be up in a few weeks.

Another monthly meeting tomorrow. Some of the things we're looking at doing include sponsorship by local (only) businesses and we're finding there's actually alot of interest in helping. We're not sure, exactly, how to do this yet and we'll work it out with the businesses, most likely, on a case by case basis.

We've got a couple now, IZZE and Twisted Pine. Both provide drinks (natural juices from IZZE and locally brewed beer from Twisted Pine) for the van. We mention this on air regularly. Phinn does an 'IZZE's Kitchen" show (what can you make with IZZE and, say, vodka? What do you call a mx of izze and twisted pine beer? TWISTED IZZE.. uggg).

So this should be an interesting experiment in how supportive the local community really is of KBFR. The trick will be to keep ourselves independent and still supported by the local community. My primary concern is a sponsor trying to foist their point of view on KBFR and what we do/say/play. If there's even a hint of that from a specific sponsor, we'll drop them like hot nuclear waste.

Monk@kbfr.org

DFR was popped today for the third time, at a third location, within ONE HOUR of going on the air.

Methinks the FCC lies in wait for these guys.

I don't really know them (only through friends of friends) but they sure as hell are dedicated.

I don't think they're giving up either. The rumor is they're thinking of going into dig in mode: pick a site, set it up, ignore the warnings, stay in close touch with local and nationa press and when the warrant (with federal marshalls) come to haul it away, make a VERY large and loud stink.

Should be interesting to see what happens. Stay tuned.

Monk@kbfr.org

Well HOT DAMN Denver's Pirate Radio seems to be hoppin!

Cactus Radio went on the air this week at 93.9FM. Hell of a signal (I picked them up fine all over Denver).

They have an AOL IM address: kctsradio

That's all I have though. No website or phone yet. They said they'd have a website up in the next week or so.

Welcome to our fellow pirates!

Monk@Kbfr.org

Funding: BIG part of keeping a station alive.

One thing you can do is get in touch with a new group that's formed here in Boulder. I think they plan on making their services available to everyone. We'll be adding a 'send money to' button on the website soon. They're a non profit corporation. They take the money, keep an administrative fee, and get the rest to you. Once they get their final name and websit up, I'll post it here.

Monk@kbfr.org

Our coharts in Santa Cruz were busted last week so it made us take another long look at what we're doing.

I've come to the conclusion that, although stupid, the lengths we go to to protect KBFR are worth it. FRSC was running 'hot' (the transmitter and the studio in the same place).

If you seperate the two, run an internet radio station (which is where the DJ's and most of the equipment are) and an STL (Studio Transmitter link) that's seperate, you're just plain better off. I've gone over the specifics of how this works in past posts so I won't repeat it again, but this underlines how important it is that you play the game (as much as that pisses me off. We should just be able to GET a FRIGGIN LICENSE). What stupidity. Why won't the FCC learn? The solution is so simple, and really pretty easy to do on their part.