You a fan of internet radio? do you webcast? You should read this

[Metaldrumz]

90% of my show is stuff not on the RIAA hitlist.

This whole ordeal still blows though.

 

[Magius]

I know I said this once before. But, it bares repeating. We in the metal community HAVE OPTIONS. The internet radio groups HAVE OPTIONS. That is this: Just flatly REFUSE to play RIAA acts. There are hundreds of indy labels out there that want to be heard. So, instead of playing Dream Theater, play Kamelot. Instead of playing Shadows Fall, play more Impaled Nazarene. If they are on a major label, they are persona non grata on internet radio. The indy labels and acts will appreciate the increase in airplay.

Just ask Lance.

Metal has been served a gift horse. Don't shoot it in its head.

Peace,
Ray C.

That may be fine for tiny little webcasts that have 3 to 50 listeners, but I think that most of the bigger webcasts like KNAC and Hardradio got that way by playing popular metal acts and mixing in the smaller bands. I'm certain that they won't consider it a gift horse to lose or surrender the right to play those artists to be RIAA free.

Plus while it sounds easy to avoid big labels, that can be extremely risky since there are a lot of small label members. Also with a lot of smaller labels being owned by larger labels it's hard to tell which albums are RIAA related. Except for the latest 3 releases Kamelot’s entire back catalog is RIAA affiliated. Add to that the multitude of songs that may have originally been RIAA free, but have been re-released on new label or vise versa. Which version does the webcaster own, and does it matter? The task of picking RIAA safe albums will be a chore, and not doing it would be walking through a minefield. Webcasters that assume too much will probably find themselves slapped with a nasty bill in short order.

Flipping off the RIAA will have them closely scrutinizing everything you play in order to catch and fine you. Yes, I think they're that vindictive, because they'll regard any alternative to their agenda as competition. If the new rates go into effect many if not most webcasters will quit, making those left much easier for the RIAA to monitor.

No easy horse to ride, and many won’t think it’s worth it. I’ve been on the verge of starting a small webcast myself for over a year (thanks for the info Rakosh). However, I’ll defer until this issue is resolved.