Saturday, April 28, 2007

Internet Radio Equality Act

Recently, the U.S Copyright Royalty Board issued a ruling that dramatically increases the royalties paid to rights holders for streaming music on the Internet. While public broadcasters have been paying negotiated royalties to music publishers/songwriters for some time, this marks the first time, due to increased activity and new technology that we have been asked to pay the “performers” royalties. The board ruling set new rates that are 250% above copyright royalties. Even more ominous is that these royalties by themselves greatly exceed the revenues that the handful of public stations like XPN who are committed to music streaming generate or expect to generate in the near future. These services all are committed to playing artists who do not otherwise get airplay on commercial radio.

Section 118 of the Copyright Act of 1976 specified “a fair return to copyright owners without unfairly burdening public broadcasters.” Clearly this is not the case here. Therefore, Congress will introduce a bill this week addressing both noncommercial and commercial streaming services, the “Internet Radio Equality Act”. This legislation recognizes public radio’s public service mission and will put these royalties under the same system and standards as the royalties we currently pay to the publishers/songwriters. We believe artists should be fairly compensated but under a system that allows the continuing operation and development of the Internet streaming of music that does not get exposure in commercial broadcasting.

Please contact your congressional representatives in the next week and ask them to co-sponsor and support the Internet Radio Equality Act. The future of non-commercial Internet music streaming depends on getting relief from this onerous new burden. We are pursuing this acknowledgement of the special role of public broadcasting in negotiations, through legislation and in the courts.

Thank you and stay tuned.

Roger LaMay, General Manager WXPN

Tuesday, April 17, 2007

Some Days

Some days just suck. Some days you just feel like you've been run over flat by EVERYONE in your orbit (friends, family, co-workers, life, etc.) & you just don't have the strength to get up anymore.

Today is one of those days.

I'm feeling that familiar aching & desperate feeling of wanting to make a geographic. I really want to pack up all my stuff & move far, far away. Austin sounds good. Maybe Portland or Seattle. Cities that are small, friendly, inexpensive to live (or at least less expensive than CA) & most definitely cities that are far enough away that I won't have to deal w/ my immediate family & their bullshite anymore.


F**k 'em.

Thursday, April 12, 2007

Deadeye Dick

Damn... another GREAT writer is gone from our midst.

All the best to ya Mr. Vonnegut up there in heaven. I'm sure you'll keep G-d well entertained. Say hey to Adams, Heinlein & Kesey for me will ya? Oh, and a special thank you for "Dead Eye Dick" in particular. Damn... that was a good f**king book. What can I say? You're missed already. There are too few writers of your caliber anymore, far too few.

P.S. WTF is up w/ someone burning down Johnny's house in TN? Accident or not, that's messed up man.

Tuesday, April 10, 2007

Haves & Have Nots?

Something to think about:

I will never be happy with what I want (or think I want), if I'm not happy with what I already have right now.

Monday, April 2, 2007

I Love Lesbians!

Some of my dearest friends are gay women. Most of my childhood friends have long thought I am gay b/c I am always showing up at their parties w/ my gay (or other single) female friends. Whatever. I don't care what they think. Lesbians are AWESOME!

Thank G-d for them. Seriously. I love everything about them; their hearts, their sense of humor, their girlfriends (Butch, lipstick, femme, it's all good), their sense of style (or lack thereof - LOL), their love of animals, how comfortable most of them seem to be in their skin, how quickly they fall in love & COMMIT to each other (kinda scary too)... all of it.

Speaking of lesbians. I was in Belmont Shore yesterday w/ my birthmom & her long time friend (they are not lesbians, bear with me here). I was walking along noting all the openly gay couples on the street. Yet another reason to LOVE Long Beach. There was this way hot lesbian couple having lunch at a sidewalk cafe w/ their equally beautiful Visla dog. I stopped to talk to them b/c of their dog. I felt instantly at ease w/ them. See what I mean? They're just cool man.

Second thing to note for today that is heavily on my mind (in a good way):

It's opening day for Major League Baseball!!


'Nuff said.