FCC Chairman plans to recommend censure against Comcast
Federal Communications Commission chairman Kevin Martin plans to recommend that the FCC issue a warning against the ISP for imposing "arbitrarily limits" on its subscribers. The recommendation, now circulating internally, would require various disclosure and procedural shifts without applying penalties.
Margaret Kane, News.com read more
There’s been some buzz around FCC Chairman Kevin Martin’s public backing of the XM-Sirius satellite radio merger, but we at FMC think that terrestrial radio is still worth making noise about.
FMC has long been involved in the push for better radio. We’ve conducted studies that show that commercial radio routinely excludes local and independent artists, largely due to the excessive station ownership consolidation that occurred in the wake of the 1996 Telecommunications Act. (See our 2002 and 2006 Radio Studies for more info). read more
This post is the first in a series about last October’s full-power, non-commercial licensing window opened by the FCC. Mike Janssen, project manager for FMC’s Full Power Initiative, will provide an up-close look at several applicants, while examining what this process could mean for listeners. read more
They say you better listen to the voice of reason / But they don’t give you any choice ‘cause they think that it’s treason. . .
-Elvis Costello, "Radio, Radio"
In the course of doing some internal research here at Future of Music Coalition, we rediscovered a fantastic article by John Nova Lomax, which ran in Houston Press back in January. The piece is all about how the Federal Telecommunications Act of 1996 resulted in the appalling homogenization of the commercial airwaves.
In the story, Lomax lays bare the tactics through which the National Association of Broadcasters claims diversity on the dial. FMC Executive Director Jenny Toomey is quoted heavily: read more
On Saturday, July 14, FMC Deputy Director Kristin Thomson will be moderating a panel called "Can You Hear Me Now? This Ain’t Your Grandfather’s Radio", one of the many discussions scheduled to happen during the Recording Academy’s Independent’s Day event in Philadelphia.
Kristin, Billy Zero from XM Radio’s "Unsigned" channel, WPRB’s Jon Solomon and other panelists will talk about the state of radio, and the plethora of platforms that musicians can use to get their music heard. read more
Congress urges peace talks in Net radio conflict
In a hearing on webcasting on Thursday, members of Congress admitted that they were unsure how to balance the interests of webcasters with the need to compensate artists through royalties. Since the new royalties are effective on July 15, Congress is urging webcasters and SoundExchange to work things out independently in order to beat the deadline and avoid the collapse of small business webcasters.
by Anne Broache, CNET, June 28, 2007
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The payola agreement reached today by the FCC and big broadcast chains represents a major — but tentative — step toward once again opening the nation’s airwaves to local music and voices. read more
In August, FMC’s Kristin Thomson had a chat with Neeta Ragoowansi, membership director for SoundExchange, the agency that collects and distributes the digital public performance royalty. We talked about the basics of how SoundExchange works and its growth over the past four years, and why it’s important for bands, labels and performers to become members of SoundExchange. Don’t know much about SoundExchange? Read on to see how it could apply to you. read more
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