Natebot
Semper Natebot

Listening Post, Wired magazine's music blog has a post about the unfairness of royalty-free HD radio broadcasts vs the new net radio fees. Despite broadcasting a far clearer and consistent signal and the potential for more perfect copies of songs, HD radio is not forced to pay any royalties to the artists they play. That's because it has been long ago accepted that playing an artist's music over terrestrial radio is a form of marketing or advertising the artists album. You hear the song, you buy the single.

That's not the case for net radio, which supporters of the DMCA say must pay fees because the potential for "near perfect copies" (in other words piracy) and which will have its rates raised on July15, including requiring a retroactive payment on all songs played in the past year. Does this $ go to artists? Yes and No. I have read that if you stream independent artists not represented by the RIAA or cannot be found, then net broadcasters still have to pay but evidently the collection agency gets to keep the money for themselves.

I've been listening to net broadcaster for at least 7 years now and I've seen it grow from a few streams of esoteric stuff to corporate giants get in on the game. I've spent many a late night coding to the sounds of SomaFM (I once did a sleepless 38 hour start to finish ecommerce coding job with the help of Groove Salad, and didn't hear one repeated song!) When I was spinning tunes at WFHB on the Radio Gnome Showgram and Subsonic Workshop, I was listening to artists on internet radio streams all around the world in order to seek out new music for the shows. For me internet radio streams serve the same purpose as terrestrial radio and serve to increase listener choice and the breadth of artistic expression. And wonderful innovations like Pandora are just now showing up (even the threat of the fee increase has caused Pandora to limit its service to US visitors.)

Small net broadcasters like SomaFM and many others claim the rates are so high that they will simply have to stop broadcasting. Even NPR is leading the way to get these fees revoked. If Peter Sagal is lock n' loading then isn't it time you too joined the fray?

If you are already ready to act, you can contact your Senator or Rep to ask them to co-sponsor the Internet Radio Equality Act. (Seattle and Bloomington Reps are already on board!)

• Seattle WA constituents instructions
  
• Bloomington IN constituents instructions
  
• Other constituents instructions
  

Labels: music

Amanda and I have signed a lease on a new apartment over in Ravenna. It's a three-floor two bedroom with a den-like loft overlooking the hardwood floor common area with a wood-burning open-face stove. Add in a washer,dryer, and dishwasher and we're in the lap of luxury. We are going to miss Ballard and Sunset Hill though. We've really enjoyed this Norwegian neighborhood immensely. In essence we are moving from one quiet suburban 'hood for another, though Ballard is transitioning from fishing village to hipster hangout. Ravenna is evidently just plain boring. Er, I mean "quintessential."

That's fine, we're a short trip to all the fun anyway. Hopefully by mid-June I'll have pixs of the new 'hood in the gallery.

Here is a button to our House Warming wish list for A and I.

As you may have heard, the marketing machine for The Golden Compass has been released. Beside great looking snap shots of the sets, you can answer a series of questions to find your Daemon. What makes this more interesting than the typical "which Beatle are you?" characterizer, this one allows others to change your daemon based on your friends feedback. Click on the flash movie below and you'll get to see what I mean.

What's this Daemon business? Well I don't have time to go into it, but Philip Pullman's cool children's novel is set in a world where people's souls live on the outside of their bodies and take an animal form. Mine, as determined by a series of questions, turns out to be an ape. Everyone knows they're the sworn enemy of robots. So maybe my Daemon will change shape though your interaction.

UPDATE: My daemon has morphed into a snow leopard after Amanda's input. The daemon has about a week more of input before it locks down.

UPDATE: My daemon has morphed into what I can only hope is supposed to be a spider.

UPDATE: My daemon has changed into a mouse.

It's been short month here at Sunset Hill. I've been to Vegas and back twice for work related trade-shows and Amanda and I have been apartment hunting for a larger place nearer our work. More on that later.

Sadly I have nothing to comment on the passing of fellow Hoosier Kurt Vonnegut. I haven't read much of his work which is probably my mistake since his writing has either much influenced the writers I do read likeHaruki Murakami or is in the same vain like Kobo Abe, . In any case, David over at the The Levinarian has far wittier reflections on Mr.Vonnegut. The irony that Indianapolis waited this long to honor their native writer.