Wednesday, March 21, 2007

The fate of indie music as we know it

A Smashing (albeit lengthy) article on Salon.com about the 20 Mar 2007 rulings by the FCC and Copyright Royalty Board, which put the screws to internet radio services by retroactively charging them increased royalties for internet radio services.

While I'm sorry for internet radio services like Pandora and AccuRadio who now owes Millions more than they ever made with their services, I know this is the kind of thing that happens when a multibillion dollar industry has their claws around the testes of the government. You don't tug on Superman's Cape, you don't spit into the wind, you don't pull the mask off the Lone Ranger, you don't visit Crystal, MN without packing some heat, and you don't set up shop against the record industry without some serious lawyers, insurance, and compromising pix of high-ranking officials.

The recording industry is laughing now, but it sounds to me like they just pulled the trigger before they looked to see which way the gun was pointing. While this ruling might kill internet radio, and toss the Recording Industry enough cash to sue some more innocent fans, it will also dissuade new artists AWAY from the old royalty paradigm, and onto things like creative commons licensing, and services like magnatune.

Blog on,
-CZ

Labels: Business Phenomena, Music Industry