Articles and Fact Sheets

FEATURED ISSUE : Community and Low Power Radio

"I Support Community Radio" Artist Video Testimonials
June 2009

When was the last time you cranked up the volume on your radio because you heard something new, different or local? Chances are it's been a while. But quality local broadcasting doesn't have to be a thing of the past. Together, we can make it an everyday reality.

Radio is still an incredibly important resource for artists, fans and communities. That's why FMC is involved in the fight to expand non-commercial radio as alternatives to homogenized commercial broadcasting. We believe that radio has the power to inspire, inform and entertain while serving up distinct local and regional flavor. And the musicians we've talked to think so, too.

PROJECTS AND PAPERS

Principles for Musician Compensation in New Business Models
Artist Principles | Artist Principles explained | Press Release| Blog Post
April 2009

FACT SHEETS

Net Neutrality
May 2008

HD Radio
May 2008

Low Power FM Radio
May 2008

Orphan Works
May 2008

Traveling with Instruments
May 2008

SoundExchange
March 2008

Public Performance Right for Sound Recordings
March 2008

Touring Internationally
January 2008

Full Power Non-Commercial Radio Licenses
By Jean Cook
August 1, 2007

Media Ownership Fact Sheet
By Kristin Thomson
January 23, 2007

RADIO

Low Power FM on the Hill
By Shayne Wagman and Casey Rae-Hunter
June 16, 2009

The Need for a Public Performance Right
By Ann Chaitovitz
January 7, 2009

FMC's Full Power Initiative — Shaking Up Radio
By Mike Janssen
July 14, 2008

The Effects of Media Consolidation on Urban Radio
By Eric K. Arnold
May 16, 2008

The Changing Sound of Arts and Culture on the Radio
By Jean Cook & Justin Jouvenal
August 1, 2007

INTERNET, POLICY AND LAW

The Live Nation/Ticketmaster Merger How Would it Affect Musicians and Consumers?
February 26, 2009

Net Neutrality and Urban Music
By Eric K. Arnold
October 21, 2008

Ensemble Digital: The Kronos Quartet's Sidney Chen on the Open Internet
By Casey Rae-Hunter & Jean Cook
August 21, 2008

Untangling Net Neutrality: A Music Advocate's Perspective
By Jean Cook
August 1, 2007

Is Grokster Contributory and Vicarious? How the courts wrestle with copyright and creativity in the internet age
By Wendy Harman
October 11, 2004

The Need to Strike a Balance: Understanding the INDUCE Act
by Michael Colangelo
August 4, 2004

A citizens' and musicians' guide to the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA)
by Brett Keller
August 3, 2004

Webcasting Streams On
The Status of webcasting following the passage of the Small Webcaster Settlement Act. Includes a chart of recently-settled webcasting agreements
by Kristin Thomson and Michael Papish
July 11, 2003

Music and Legislation:
An interview with Government Relations Director, Michael Bracy
by Jenny Toomey
July 12, 2000

DMCA, AHRA, RIAA?
Attorney Walter McDonough's Policy Primer for the Music/Tech Environment
by Jenny Toomey
June 15, 2000

Resources for NYS Musicians

Health Insurance Advice for NYS Musicians

Net Neutrality

HD Radio

Low Power FM

Low Power FM Stations in NY State

SoundExchange

Touring Internationally

Traveling with Instruments

Policy Landscape for New York Musicians [2008]

These fact sheet are supported by The New York State Music Fund, established by the New York State Attorney General at Rockefeller Philanthropy Advisors.

June 2008

The Payola Education Guide briefly looks at the history of payola, the development of the "indie promoter" system, the investigations by the New York State Attorney General and the FCC from 2003-2007, and the contents of the "Rules of Engagement" signed by the four largest radio companies to provide context of what it means for musicians and independent labels, and how artists are interacting with radio in the 21st century.

This guide was supported by The New York State Music Fund, established by the New York State Attorney General at Rockefeller Philanthropy Advisors.

Copyright Law in the Digital Age
Walter McDonough gives Jenny Toomey the legal lowdown on copyright law, sampling, and artist compensation
June 6, 2000

Report from The Hill:
Government Hearings on Effect of Internet on Small Labels
by Kristin Thomson
June 1, 2000

THE ECONOMICS OF MUSIC

SoundExchange: A Digital Primer
by Kristin Thomson
October 13, 2004

The Future of Music Careers: Quantum Career Development in an Transforming Industry
by Peter Spellman
March 2003

The Online Tip Jar Experiment:
Why the Results Could be Underwhelming - Or Even Harmful - For Artists
by Peter DiCola  
October 13, 2000

Voluntary Donations, Automagically.
An Interview with Matt Goyer of Fairtunes.com
by Peter DiCola  
October 10, 2000

Orange Alley and BootLegal: Are they making it legal to bootleg?
by Jenny Toomey
Septmber 19, 2000

Meet the New Boss
by Jenny Toomey
August 18, 2000

Net Busking as a Form of Online Compensation
by Jeff Coleman
July 31, 2000

The Economics of Recorded Music: From Free Market to Just Plain Free
by Peter DiCola
July 16, 2000

Virtual Tip Jar or Charity Case?: Asking Artists to Take It Up The ARS
by Jenny Toomey and Kristin Thomson
May 25, 2000

Music, Technology and a New Social Organization:
Rick Karr from NPR on Encryption, SDMI and New Business Models
by Jenny Toomey
January 18, 2000

TECHNOLOGY

When New Media Turns Old
What Will Happen to Independent Culture when the Web Goes Big Business?
by Andrew Spencer Goldman, Center for Digital Democracy
August 30, 2001

Artists and Technology
Jenny Toomey and Brian Zisk discuss watermarking, digital rights management and the danger of closed systems
by Jenny Toomey
July 19, 2000

Music in the Digital Age
Internet pioneer Brian Zisk on webcasting, artist compensation and the fallacies about encryption
by Jenny Toomey
April 20, 2000

The Value of Digital Distribution
Jenny and Aaron from Epitonic.com debate digital distribution and royalty payments for artists in the digital age
March 9, 2000

Security on the Net: There's No Such Thing
An email discussion about Privacy with Edith Frost
January 19, 2000

Future Prospects for Music and Technology
Musictech's Ben Morgan on The Paradigm Shift in Music Consumption
by Jenny Toomey
November 15, 1999

ARTISTS' RIGHTS

Welcome to the Wall of Shame
An Introduction by Tim Quirk
June 1, 2001

Why Napster is Bad
by Vinnie Van Go-Gogh
July 16, 2000

Famous for Fifteen People
Musician/Artist Momus on Patronage and Piracy in the Information Age
by Jenny Toomey
November 19, 1999

DIY ON THE WEB

It's the future, baby. How CD Baby helps indie musicians with digital distribution
by Kristin Thomson
October 8, 2003

An Interview with the Independent Online Distribution Alliance
Kristin Thomson talks with Kevin Arnold of Noise Pop fame about IODA, a company that's helping independent labels build a legitimate digital presence in the ever-expanding world of digital download services.
Setpember 17, 2003

An Interview with the Digital Rights Agency
Kristin Thomson talks with DRA's founder Tuhin Roy about the company's goals and its unique strengths in helping independent labels gain a foothold in the growing digital distribution world.
September 17, 2003

Techno-Marketing
Andrew Webster chats with Scott Ross from Moonshine Music
September 14, 2000

From Fan Site to Band Bible
An Interview with Bill Litfin of rftc.com
by Kristin Thomson
February 9, 2000

Indie Labels on the Web: Kill Rock Stars
Slim Moon from Kill Rock Stars on Websites, Digital Distribution and the DIY Ethic
by Jenny Toomey
December 28, 1999

Indie Labels on the Web: Jade Tree
Tim Owen from Jade Tree on websites, chat rooms and selling records online
by Kristin Thomson
December 20, 1999

RESEARCH

"People Used to Pay For This Stuff?"
Teenagers Talk About Music, the Internet, and their Beloved Napster
by Peter DiCola
August 30, 2000

Websites for
Artists, Labels, and Bands

Check out these websites offer tons of current resources, tips, articles, links, and connections for bands and artists.

CD Baby A fantastic, practical way for indie musicians to sell CDs online and to post their digital tracks to all the major online music services.

Host Baby From the folks at CD Baby, an affordable web hosting service with very practical features for musicians including an online calendar, guestbooks, links to online sales, and special email capabilites.

Just Plain Folks With a membership of over 42,000 songwriters, Just Plain Folks has become one of the best ways for musicians and songwriters to network, share resources, and work together.

SoundExchange Is your music played online? If so, you should sign up with SoundExchange to make sure you're receiving your digital public performance royalties. Read our fact sheet to learn more.

KnowtheMusicBiz is an online community for emerging artists, musicians and music executives. KTMB members can find, exchange and contribute valuable information about the business of music plus get advice and insight from industry thought leaders.

Independent Online Distribution Alliance (IODA) helps independent labels to build a legitimate online presence and ensuring their fair share in the digital music future.

TuneCore helps indie and unsigned bands have their music available on all the best digital music stores. Band keeps all the royalties for sales.

Ariel Publicity Great website chock full of novel ideas about how to use new technologies to your advantage to promote and distribute your music.

Indiecentre is a great resource for bands, musicians and aspiring labels. Includes a directory of resources for manufacturing, distribution, and helpful articles about starting a label, touring, and promotion.

Indie-Music.com A mind boggling amount of information for indie musicians and labels. Practical articles, links, advice.

TAXI acts as a liaison between songwriters and major label A&R representatives. Artists submit songs which are then critiqued by former major label employees, and the strongest submissions are passed on to the A&R reps.

Starpolish Great resource about indie promotion.