Internet Radio – A Bright Future?

Lately, I’ve been listening to an Internet radio station called, Martini in the Morning.

No, it’s not owned by Smirnoff and no, it’s not just in the morning. Our good friend and art director, Virgil Lynn, told me about it one day and I’ve been hooked ever since. But this station and hundreds of others (including music radio stations that stream their programming) are currently in a tug-of-war with the music industry, through its rights management entity Sound Exchange, over money.

Now, don’t get me wrong, I’m all for artists and composers of music getting paid for their labors. But it appears that the current structure for Internet broadcasters is a problem. Left unchecked, rising rates will make the cost of music too high and many Internet stations will be forced to go off line (and it's not as if they are swimming in cash right now).

The Internet is expanding and before long wireless access will approach the ubiquity that traditional over-the-air broadcasters (both terrestrial and satellite) enjoy. That’s what makes this tug-of-war so important right now.

Just a few days ago, the National Association of Broadcasters (NAB) threw its considerable influence behind the Internet broadcasters' (which include many of their radio members) efforts, through the Internet Radio Equality Act, to reduce the rates that the record industry wants.

A growing number of industry observers and analysts sense that the future is bright for the emerging medium. We certainly hope so. The music rate controversy may not affect many of our clients presently, but the precedent these negotiations will set may very well guide subsequent battles over rights and access.

We’ll keep an eye on it. Meanwhile, pass me that Martini (in the Morning.com music).