Internet Radio In Danger?

Fight disinformation: Sign up for the free Mother Jones Daily newsletter and follow the news that matters.


mojo-photo-radiosilence.jpg
For those of us who have become… ahem… frustrated with the trend towards consolidation and conservative playlists at regular, over-the-air “terrestrial” radio, the internet has been a life-saver. Whether it’s random amateur stations, AOL’s XM-assisted collection of channels, or ghosts of once-terrestrial frequencies like WOXY, internet radio has offered a whole world of musical choices. But all that could be in jeopardy. Music blog Idolator has pointed out that new royalty rates just decided on by the Copyright Royalty Board would put most internet broadcasters out of business.

Full disclosure: I’m an employee of LIVE 105 (CBS Radio), and we, like all stations, pay fees to the record labels for broadcasting their music. The fee structure is such that (most) stations can continue to be profitable businesses. But as Business Week points out, the new rates for internet stations could add up to over 100% of revenue. That doesn’t sound very profitable. The kind of unfortunatetly-titled website Save Our Streams has been set up in anticipation of the coming internet radio silence (perhaps they could also double as a prostate-health awareness site?) and has links to a variety of news stories on the issue.

So, what’s a new music junkie to do? Allow me to suggest the apparently unregulated world of podcasts! It seems nuts, but there’s a whole section on iTunes full of free – and great — new music, and if you’re like me, the promise of listening to a new DJ mix on the iPod is the only thing getting you to the gym in the morning. Check these out:

  • And Did We Mention Our Disco?
    Currently featuring electro DJ sets from the excellent Simian Mobile Disco and Rory Philips

  • Stones Throw
    The LA hip-hop label’s got a short-but-sweet tribute to J Dilla

  • Mad Decent
    Diplo’s eclectic selections from Baltimore House to Baile Funk

  • Erol Alkan / Club Trash
    The world’s premier electro-skronk DJ and remixer features recent sets from himself and guests at his ground-breaking london club night

  • Beatport Burners
    The online dance music store features the biggest tracks of the moment
  • See if those don’t give you an extra jolt of energy on the treadmill…

    THE FACTS SPEAK FOR THEMSELVES.

    At least we hope they will, because that’s our approach to raising the $350,000 in online donations we need right now—during our high-stakes December fundraising push.

    It’s the most important month of the year for our fundraising, with upward of 15 percent of our annual online total coming in during the final week—and there’s a lot to say about why Mother Jones’ journalism, and thus hitting that big number, matters tremendously right now.

    But you told us fundraising is annoying—with the gimmicks, overwrought tone, manipulative language, and sheer volume of urgent URGENT URGENT!!! content we’re all bombarded with. It sure can be.

    So we’re going to try making this as un-annoying as possible. In “Let the Facts Speak for Themselves” we give it our best shot, answering three questions that most any fundraising should try to speak to: Why us, why now, why does it matter?

    The upshot? Mother Jones does journalism you don’t find elsewhere: in-depth, time-intensive, ahead-of-the-curve reporting on underreported beats. We operate on razor-thin margins in an unfathomably hard news business, and can’t afford to come up short on these online goals. And given everything, reporting like ours is vital right now.

    If you can afford to part with a few bucks, please support the reporting you get from Mother Jones with a much-needed year-end donation. And please do it now, while you’re thinking about it—with fewer people paying attention to the news like you are, we need everyone with us to get there.

    payment methods

    THE FACTS SPEAK FOR THEMSELVES.

    At least we hope they will, because that’s our approach to raising the $350,000 in online donations we need right now—during our high-stakes December fundraising push.

    It’s the most important month of the year for our fundraising, with upward of 15 percent of our annual online total coming in during the final week—and there’s a lot to say about why Mother Jones’ journalism, and thus hitting that big number, matters tremendously right now.

    But you told us fundraising is annoying—with the gimmicks, overwrought tone, manipulative language, and sheer volume of urgent URGENT URGENT!!! content we’re all bombarded with. It sure can be.

    So we’re going to try making this as un-annoying as possible. In “Let the Facts Speak for Themselves” we give it our best shot, answering three questions that most any fundraising should try to speak to: Why us, why now, why does it matter?

    The upshot? Mother Jones does journalism you don’t find elsewhere: in-depth, time-intensive, ahead-of-the-curve reporting on underreported beats. We operate on razor-thin margins in an unfathomably hard news business, and can’t afford to come up short on these online goals. And given everything, reporting like ours is vital right now.

    If you can afford to part with a few bucks, please support the reporting you get from Mother Jones with a much-needed year-end donation. And please do it now, while you’re thinking about it—with fewer people paying attention to the news like you are, we need everyone with us to get there.

    payment methods

    We Recommend

    Latest

    Sign up for our free newsletter

    Subscribe to the Mother Jones Daily to have our top stories delivered directly to your inbox.

    Get our award-winning magazine

    Save big on a full year of investigations, ideas, and insights.

    Subscribe

    Support our journalism

    Help Mother Jones' reporters dig deep with a tax-deductible donation.

    Donate