Good News: Fight to Save Internet Radio Gets Eleventh Hour Boost in Congress The bad news within the good news is that, on March 2 of this year, the U.S. Copyright Royalty Judges made a determination to impose destructively high royalty rates on Internet radio providers. Worse, these royalties shall be retroactive all the way back to January 1, 2006. The new rates are scheduled to take effect on May 15 of this year.
In short, it spells the end of most independent Internet radio.
This disgrace was heavily lobbied for by the big record companies, such as Warner Music, and particularly by the big radio companies, such as Clear Channel. The effort by these influential conglomerates to impose destructively high royalties on independent webcasters is deliberate and very much intended to shut down new and emerging rivals and to defend the incumbent oligopolies from the consequences of free competition.
But independent webcasters must be allowed to thrive! Countless musicians who never get seen by the big labels have come to depend on Internet radio to get their music out to fans and build new audiences. Indeed, oftentimes it is the artists themselves who go on to become the webcasters, wanting to give a sturdier stage to independent music and pave an easier road for the artists who follow them.
I sincerely wish that artists were better compensated for the music they make, but it is not for artists’ sake that these destructively high royalties are soon to take effect. As you may know, the big radio companies have long negotiated nominal or zero artist royalty payments for themselves. Instead, they pay only the copyright holders—not the artists per se—and, invariably, the copyright holders are the big record companies, who then turn around and pay their artists only pennies on the dollar. The entire scheme is altogether ugly!
These corporate juggernauts are not interested in musical art. They aim only to stir up sensations and collect many profits. I do not disparage the many people who enjoy the music that results from that unhealthy environment, but I do not much prefer it myself. I listen to independent Internet radio—featuring the work of musicians for whom music is still an art.
I have a lot to lose if independent Internet radio is bankrupted and destroyed by oppressive royalties. Webcasters themselves stand to lose even more: their businesses. And as for the musicians…what will become of them?
Then along came Washington State Representative Jay Inslee (D, of course), sponsoring H.R. 2060, the Internet Radio Equality Act. It will prevent these destructive royalties from taking effect, effectively giving independent musicians and webcasters a five-year reprieve.
Bad News: Defiant Bush Administration Unlikely to Submit to Congressional AuthorityThere's lots of wicked shit going on out there, but to be honest I'm still pretty pissed at the Supreme Court's ban on abortion. However, moving on for the moment, we in the United States are heading toward a potential "Constitutional crisis." In a nutshell, here's what's happening:
Congress: We're doing an investigation into how fucked up your administration is. We want you to give us some documents and e-mails, and we want some of you to come to Congress and give testimony under oath about what's been happening at the White House.
Bush Administration: Nope.
Congress: Then we'll subpoena you. That means you have to show up.
Bush Administration: Nope.
Congress: Then we'll find you in contempt of Congress, and lock up anyone who refuses to participate in our Constitutionally mandated congressional oversight.
Bush Administration: Nope.
Congress: We will! We'll have a U.S. attorney prosecute our charges of contempt against any of you who refuse to cooperate with us.
Bush Administration: You mean the same U.S. attorneys who are so absolutely loyal to us because we fired all the ones who had even an ounce of professional credibility?
Congress: D'oh! Then we'll take you to court.
Bush Administration: And by the time the courts decide, it'll be 2008 and none of this will even matter. You phail.
Congress: So, you're not going to cooperate with us?
Bush Administration: Nope.
Congress: But then what's left for us? Aren't we a co-equivalent branch of the government?
Bush Administration: Nope. War on Terror 'n all. Unitary Executive. President calls the shots.
Congress: Damn. Does that mean we're just a useless bunch of blubbering sissies?
Bush Administration: Yup.
Of course, the good news within the bad news is that Congress actually does have a few other options at its disposal, provided that it can muster the political willpower to exercise those options. Congressional Democrats, conciliatory by nature and long whipped by twelve years in exile, have been astonishingly reluctant to push the progressive agenda that voters demanded back in the November elections. Even though the American people are squarely with the Democrats right now, the Democratic leadership is still afraid of alienating itself from them. Darn. I wish they'd be more strong-willed.
Not just because they're the Dems--my team--but because we are headed toward a confrontation with the Bush administration that truly is a Constitutional crisis. This president and his people have done so much in six short years to pevert the American model of government--and at such ruinous costs to the American people and America itself--that there has to be some accountability, some oversight. There must be, or else this presidency will take root in precedent, and the future of American politics will be shaped permanently. If Congress caves to the White House, you can bet your lucky dime that future presidents will take for granted some of the same abuses of power. Likewise, if Congress caves to the White House, then much of the disastrous policy introduced under the Bush administration will become entrenched and permanent.
These are troubling times!
WTF News: Fireball Destroys San Francisco Freeway Interchange Overpass A fuel tanker was going too fast on a freeway ramp and crashed. The thing caught aflame and shortly exploded, sending a fireball hundreds of feet into the air. Oh, and straight through a three-lane overpass, which promptly melted.
Impressive...
The concrete from the collapsed overpass is folded like a piece of cloth and you can see where the metal railings and steel girders melted. The San Francisco Chronicle reports. This looks like the worst freeway disaster in California since the Northridge Earthquake of 1994 (in which I participated). Luckily, nobody was killed.
A Caltrans engineer held up his forefinger an inch from his thumb and said the remains of the fuel truck are now "this big."
Commuters beware. Actually, scratch that. With two freeways closed at the Bay Bridge, commuters be screwed. Take the train. At least San Francisco has a train. (*grumbles at Seattle politicians*)
"I say, is this what we call hard-hitting news?"
