My workday goes much smoother because I listen to a variety of Online Radio stations. Today they all went silent or played public awareness campaigns from SaveNetRadio.org. People have been wondering if anyone will notice. Well, like the title says: I noticed!
I don’t know all the mechanics, but it comes to this. A lot of these small, boutique-ish online radio stations will shut down because the cost structure of the compensation will be, in their opinion, unsuitable.
I, for one, being a proponent of open content, software, and standards think there must be some underlying disconnect between the “Copyright Royalty Board” and broadcasters.
These small, hobbyist online broadcasters are part of larger shift in broadcasting/economies. Web 2.0-ish user generated content and participatory systems of consumer and producer.
The CRB probably needs to take another look at what it’s doing to see if it’s just trying to hang on to old ideologies in a new world.