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Technology

RIAA Trying to Copy-Protect Radio 364

Posted by CmdrTaco from the only-a-matter-of-time dept.
doctorfaustus writes "The EFF is reporting that "the RIAA has been pushing the FCC to impose a copy-protection mandate on the makers of next-generation digital radio receiver/recorders (think TiVo-for-radio)." According to Mike Godwin, "Never mind that digital audio broadcasting is not significantly greater in quality than regular, analog radio. Never mind that its music quality is vastly less than than that of audio CDs. In spite of these inconvenient facts, the RIAA is hoping that the transition to "digital audio broadcasting" will provide enough confusion and panic that they can persuade Congress or the FCC to impose some kind of copy-protection scheme or regulation on digital radio broadcast." "
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RIAA Trying to Copy-Protect Radio More

RIAA Trying to Copy-Protect Radio

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  • In other news... (Score:5, Funny)

    by k31bang ( 672440 ) * on Tuesday September 20, 2005 @11:24AM (#13605157) Homepage
    In other news, the RIAA is pushing the FCC for copy-protection on vocal cords.

  • Will someone please... (Score:5, Funny)

    by stox ( 131684 ) on Tuesday September 20, 2005 @11:25AM (#13605163) Homepage
    shoot RIAA, and take them out of our misery.

  • Breaking News (Score:5, Funny)

    by ackthpt ( 218170 ) * on Tuesday September 20, 2005 @11:25AM (#13605164) Homepage Journal
    From Ronald Eagleye, our on the spot reporter, Fenwick Finster was apprehended while recording FM radio broadcasts on his digital video camera at the public swimming pool, after RIAA informers tipped off police. Finster claimed it was clearly a misunderstanding, though he refused to explain why he was in the women's locker room with the video camera under his trenchcoat.
    • In a recent press release, an explanation for Finster's whereabouts has been given. "The women's locker room has the best reception," said Harold "The Grease" Lackmeyer, counsel for Finster.

  • Band-Aid + Corpse = Still Dead (Score:5, Insightful)

    by dada21 ( 163177 ) * <adam.dada@gmail.com> on Tuesday September 20, 2005 @11:27AM (#13605194) Homepage Journal
    I ran tens of thousands of dollars of radio ads this year for my retail stores (focused on 10-22 year olds). Few people heard them.

    Why? Radio is dead or dying for most younger people. All my employees under 21 podcast or listen to playlists. The RIAA doesn't really have any idea what they're chasing. Putting a Band-Aid on a corpse is useless.

    I'm not fan of music piracy (I used to run a warez pirate BBS 15 years back) anymore. Why? There is nothing worth pirating. The radio doesn't appeal to the market that likes that music. People used to go to concerts, too, but my last concert was $95/ticket for an fairly-unknown electronica band -- the crowd was thin.

    Let them DRM everything valuable to them. I'm fine with it! I have no desire to bootleg what I can afford to buy if it pleases me enough. I'll continue to go to $8 Indie bar shows, buy the bands' $10 CDs and $10 T-shirts, and ignore my car radio. My house hasn't had a radio for 10 years.

    As it gets harder for consumers to consume, they switch to something easier. I feel bad for record shops and radio ad sales people. The end is coming, but they don't see it.

    As for quality, who cares? Radio-friendly music is already fidelity-free from excessive compression, gating, and over mastering. Even my MP3'd music is only 96k, my noise floor in the car and outside that I don't mind the loss of resolution.

    Don't hate the RIAA, they're already not a concern. It's like hating VHS Macrovision.

    • I ran some radio ads a while back and didn't get any hits off of them. Even my older client base doesn't really listen to the radio anymore.

      I also agree about music on the radio. I use a tape adapter for my iPod. If my batteries die, I have some old mix tapes stashed in my glove box. I haven't bought a major lab CD in years, and it's not because of anything to do with the RIAA. It's because of the crap that's released. I do the same thing, go to small shows, and buy the CD right off of the band. But

      • Re:Band-Aid + Corpse = Still Dead (Score:5, Funny)

        by AvitarX ( 172628 ) <me@@@brandywinehundred...org> on Tuesday September 20, 2005 @11:40AM (#13605349) Journal
        No punk on the radio?!

        what about Greenday, No Doubt, and Avril Lavigne?

        And hardcore?

        We got Korn, Linkon Park, and Limp Bizkit.

        There is plenty of punk and hardcore signed by major labels, just listen.

        </sarcasm>
        • No punk on the radio?!
          what about Greenday, No Doubt, and Avril Lavigne?

          If your examples pass as proof for punk, metal is still on the radio thanks to artists like Pat Boone.
      • I'm into the same styles, but the emo bands seem to far outnumber my hardcore, oi, ska and punk. Chicago still has amazing scene, though, with $5-$9 shows 6 nights a week.

        No advertising works anymore. I get a better response on myspace, AIM messages, and word of mouth. Even e-mail is dead for advertising.

        Our future is going to be bizarre. Nothing makes sense if we t ink of the past. Lucky for me, I'm a free market lover, and the Internet enables the free market to destroy every destructive regulation o
      • I wonder what's wrong with your local radio stations. We have pretty good stations here in Salt Lake and just about everyone I know listens to the radio when they drive or as background music for card games and BBQ's. Maybe it's just my demographic, but I'm just too busy to constantly keep refreshing my music in the car and I really can't think of a better source than radio to be exposed to new music.

        Plus I think that when all the students who "rip" music or download it illegally get into the real world a
    • "People used to go to concerts, too, but my last concert was $95/ticket for an fairly-unknown electronica band -- the crowd was thin."

      I have went to a few concerts in the last few years, and they were packed. Its probably the band(s) you chose. Although I may buy less CD's with ITunes, etc. out there, I still like to go to concerts just as much as I did before the MP3 revolution.

      And I still listen to the radio. When I get tired of my playlists on my MP3 player, I have to find new music I like somewhere.

    • Re:Band-Aid + Corpse = Still Dead (Score:4, Informative)

      by Kaenneth ( 82978 ) on Tuesday September 20, 2005 @11:39AM (#13605326) Journal
      Somewhat off topic, but you should always have a radio (battery or hand crank charge...) in your home for emergency information.

    • Re:Band-Aid + Corpse = Still Dead (Score:5, Informative)

      by n9uxu8 ( 729360 ) on Tuesday September 20, 2005 @11:39AM (#13605334) Homepage
      WRONG!...not about the viability of radio...bad programming still equates to no listeners, but about "Let the DRM everything valuable to them."

      The law states that we can record radio/tv broadcasts. Quietly acquiescing to mandate DRM (even on a media that doesn't interest you personally) effective repeals fair use law and restricts your rights. This is a very bad precedent to allow.

      Dave
      • The law states that we can record radio/tv broadcasts.

        Oh? Mind citing that law?
        • 107. Limitations on exclusive rights: Fair use38 Notwithstanding the provisions of sections 106 and 106A, the fair use of a copyrighted work, including such use by reproduction in copies or phonorecords or by any other means specified by that section, for purposes such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching (including multiple copies for classroom use), scholarship, or research, is not an infringement of copyright.

          Fair use says I can copy it for research. I think that listening to it hours on

          • Fair use says I can copy it for research.

            Actually, it doesn't. It says that fair use is not an infringement of copyright. The purpose of the fair use is not especially important; the list provided is illustrative of what some fair uses might be, but nothing says that they're invariably fair. You see, you aren't parsing the statute closely enough. Looking at it selectively doesn't help either.

            In order to determine whether a use is fair or not you need to look at the four factor test in 107. It comes just af
        • Sections 107 - 118 of the Copyright Act. See http://www.copyright.gov/title17/92chap1.html [copyright.gov]

          There have been court decisions upholding sections of sections 107 - 118 in the context of home recordings of broadcasted programs.

          There is also a Supreme Court decision that specifically says that the recording of tv broadcasts is legal for home use. Sony Corp. v. Universal City Studios 464 U.S. 417, 104 S. Ct. 774, 78 L. Ed. 2d 574 (1984)
          • There have been court decisions upholding sections of sections 107 - 118 in the context of home recordings of broadcasted programs.

            Really? I'd be impressed to see a 117 case, for example, that dealt with "home recordings of broadcasted programs." Got a cite for that one?

            Incidentally, the Sony case does not say what you think it does. Essentially, Sony says that it can be a fair use. It doesn't say that it is always fair. This is to be expected, as fair use is not a blanket proposition; what is a fair use f
      • As an Anti-State Anti-Law free marketeer, I have to think out laws much harder to find the unintended consequences.

        I embrace the slippery slope now. As more laws criminalize what I consider an inherent right, more black market (read free market) provisions are created. You can never stop billions of individuals making billions of choices every minute.

        Copyright is ridiculous, but only technology saves us there. If something is worth so much to a producer, don't produce an easy to copy version.

        Play your mu
    • People who pay for digital radio arent the ones pirating material.

      In fact, this is probably just gonna piss people off - I've heard of people who record digital radio, then put it onto their ipods in batches, so they can listen to new music all the time, and its portable.

      The purpose of digital radio is to eliminate the need for owning so much music, and that means you dont need to pirate OR buy tons of music! The point of digital radio was to get decent quality, original material on an ongoing basis - its

    • Some good radio. (Score:5, Insightful)

      by LWATCDR ( 28044 ) on Tuesday September 20, 2005 @11:50AM (#13605467) Homepage Journal
      My wife is a big country fan. She has gotten me hooked on one of our local radio stations. It is a small town station that is sometimes hard to pick up but it is well worth it.
      They actually like music at that station!
      Not only that but they are part of the community. They have a show called DialnDeal every morning where people call in to sell and buy stuff and they broadcast the local high school games football games.
      Even the ads are not annoying. They are for local stores and they also seem like part of the community. Clear Channel is what is killing radio. The small town stations that are still independent can still be gems.

      • Re:Some good radio. (Score:4, Insightful)

        by hobo sapiens ( 893427 ) <POLLOCK minus painter> on Tuesday September 20, 2005 @12:13PM (#13605755) Journal
        Man, I will agree with that.

        In St Louis, there is one independant rock station, which has been around for like 40 years, and it is great! But in the last two years, all of the formerly decent (decent imho) Jacor or Clear Channel or whatever stations have changed their format and now all sound the same (for example, we have four adult contemporary stations, and I kid you not, when you hear a song on one of them, you can flip to one of the others and probably hear the same song within fifteen minutes!). I mean, radio has become so homogenized that it is really no longer relevant except for the few notable standouts. I seriously have a hard time figuring out which stations to put on my six presets in my car because I cannot even find six decent stations. That's a sad commentary on the state of radio.

        • Re:Some good radio. (Score:3, Interesting)

          by LWATCDR ( 28044 )
          That is the big problem with Clear Channel and Jacor. They are turning Radio into McDonalds and Walmart. They are trying to provide a universal experience.
          That can be good at times. If you are traveling and want to grab a quick burger or need to get some film a chain can provide you with known quantity. The problem is when you take too far you loose your sencse of place.

    • Don't blame the format (Score:3, Interesting)

      by mblase ( 200735 )
      I ran tens of thousands of dollars of radio ads this year for my retail stores (focused on 10-22 year olds). Few people heard them. Why? Radio is dead or dying for most younger people.

      Wrong. Few people heard them because most radio stations run commercials for what seems like 5-10 minutes at a stretch, so that they can advertise "50-minute non-stop music". They don't realize that most people, when they hit that eon-long commercial break, just switch to a different station with a similar format.

      It's not like
      • Nova FM in Australia do the same thing: no more than two ads in a row. I actually read something, somewhere, about it once... as you said, more people are willing to sit through the ads and so advertisers are paying more for the commercials.

        On top of that, they actually get to run more commercials than most other stations (again, because people don't mind listening to them in short bursts).
    • Why? Radio is dead or dying for most younger people. All my employees under 21 podcast or listen to playlists. The RIAA doesn't really have any idea what they're chasing. Putting a Band-Aid on a corpse is useless.

      Not Quite. The death of radio is much like the death of newspapers, printed books, and the movie theater. Granted each meadium has suffered from shrinkage, but none has completely disappeared. Even libraries are still widely used despite being able to research nearly anything at the Speed of Go
    • 'As it gets harder for consumers to consume, they switch to something easier.'

      That assumes there's an option to switch. Right now most MP3 players will accept files from "unverified sources" (ie, done yourself or pirated). If that changes (due to RIAA pressure or legislation), other options for music will be slim and none.

      I haven't listened to the radio in my home in about five years. My car radio only gets used while I'm waiting for my (aged) MP3 player to boot, or for trips too short to even bother.
      • I addressed this in a previous comment.

        The free/black market fixes all rights destructions by the government and lobbying groups. Most /. commenters agree when they say "it'll only take a few days to crack" or something similar. They're "understanding" something I frequently get modded down for saying: people, a a group, inherently know their basic rights.

        The world makes billions of individual decisions every minute. No law or government can stop the whole planet from using their inherent rights. Limi
        • I agree that everything can be cracked, eventually.

          But it doesn't matter if every Slashdot reader has access to the cracked players or systems. The general public as a whole rarely embraces such technologies. It's either too complex, too difficult, or there's the fear factor of doing something wrong.

          "Next generation" DVD players will have the ability to be remotely disabled if their code has been cracked. The **AA is trying to use fear and peer pressure to keep the sheep in line. Sure, the Slashdot crowd ca
        • What inherent rights would those be? Sorry, but *all* your rights are protected by human laws and not nature - you have no inherent right to life in nature, beyond you protecting yourself, you have no inherent right to property in nature, again beyond what you can protect yourself. All of your rights are created through use of law and those are just two examples. Theres no such thing as inherent rights, basic or not.
    • I still have a radio alarm clock I use every morning... but I only pay attention to news, traffic reports and weather since most of the music that airs is not worth listening to.

      And with the likes of WiMax and municipal WiFi under way, radio's days as an information service are also nearing the end.

      Anyway, I see nothing wrong with the RIAA&all wasting money on technical dead-ends and non-issues... that's better than spending an equivalent amount on going after disabled people on wellfare and unemployed
    • People used to go to concerts, too, but my last concert was $95/ticket for an fairly-unknown electronica band -- the crowd was thin.

      My last concert was only $10 higher, and it was the Eagles doing a three hour set! The band was in great form. Freaking awesome! The enclosed stadium in a mid-sized city was completely filled.

      Of course, it's "old fart" music, so it probably doesn't even register in your tiny little world. We "old farts" are the ones still listening to radio. We "old farts" are the ones still bu
    • What about Satellite radio? If your experiences are typical, that doesn't seem to have much of a future either.
    • The Radio Sucks, end of story.

      Also, as a person in his late 20's, I can say with absolute authority that I have *NO* patience left at all. None whatsoever. My time is extremely valuable to me personally, and to the folks who pay for it, and I consider listening/watching advertisements and bad music, or even music I dont want to listen to at the moment a sin of the highest order.

      I think I am the worst case scenario in a group of people who sees *NO VALUE* in being entertained on someone elses schedule.

    • As far as I'm concerned, ads and lack of content already killed radio! I grew up with the BBC radio (no ads), and all I can stand to listen to where I live is CBC (no ads). And guess what? Here in Toronto, the most popular morning radio programme is CBC's Metro Morning. Why would anybody subject themselves to any of the commercial radio stations with their stream of annoying, instrusive and brain-dead ads, and the constant banal, puerile, mind-numbing and irritating drivel of the grade-7-drop-out own-vo

  • Who really uses Tivo for radio (Score:3, Interesting)

    by Mr Guy ( 547690 ) on Tuesday September 20, 2005 @11:28AM (#13605206) Journal
    I could see this in the form of an XM like device, with PPV radio on demand, but I'm not sure the concept of tivo for radio will really pay off. It's not worth the effort. That's what music on CDs is for. As far as programs go, most people are perfectly happy turning the radio on and playing whatever happens to be on at the time.

    I could tivo my radio now with the capture card in my computer and dump mp3 files of shows I like but never happen to catch such as Car Talk, to disk and play that in my car right now. The odds of me actually doing it are very, very small.

    • I have done a little, but then I live in the UK and it became pointless when the BBC started releasing all of their shows via the internet anyway.

      It had value when considering some of the comedy programmes on Radio 4 that they didn't use to release.

      But then this is only a problem when the radio quality is as good as Radio 4.

  • Video... (Score:5, Funny)

    by SlashDread ( 38969 ) on Tuesday September 20, 2005 @11:28AM (#13605211)
    killed the radio star.
    But the RIAA is killing radio.
  • I don't mean to sound naive, but seriously, what happened to fair use? I thought part of the broadcasting agreement allowed for people who receive the signal to record it.

    Same as email received is the property of the owner, isn't signal received property of the receiver?

  • Already done. (Score:5, Funny)

    by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday September 20, 2005 @11:29AM (#13605217)
    ClearChannel has the patent on this, by airing music not worth copying in the first place.

    "My ears! The earmuffs do nothing!"

  • Somehow... (Score:3, Insightful)

    by DaHat ( 247651 ) on Tuesday September 20, 2005 @11:29AM (#13605226)
    I don't care about this in the slightest.

    I gave up listening to radio regularly years ago when my favorite station in Minneapolis turned into a Dianna Ross style station for 3 whole days. And now in South Dakota, the stations aren't much better, 90% country! *shudder*

    These days if I remember I might listen to some Prairie Home Companion, Love Line, or Bob & Tom in the Morning.

    Other than that... I no longer care what goes on on the radio as I've got my iPod wired into my deck and am quite happy with commercial free, hi-fidelity commutes!

  • In other words... (Score:3, Insightful)

    by tktk ( 540564 ) on Tuesday September 20, 2005 @11:29AM (#13605227)
    ...RIAA is hoping that the transition to "digital audio broadcasting" will provide enough confusion and panic that they can persuade Congress or the FCC to impose some kind of copy-protection scheme or regulation on digital radio broadcast.

    Legislate a way for us to survive.

  • Let them keep it (Score:5, Interesting)

    by curtisk ( 191737 ) * on Tuesday September 20, 2005 @11:30AM (#13605236) Homepage Journal
    The solution

    The recording industry has proposed that the FCC (1) prevent redistribution of recordings onto the Internet, removable media or to other devices; and (2) limit searching and automated copying such as by artist or song title so that individual recordings cannot be separated from surrounding content.

    Good for them.

    Vague solution, so are they saying that they want the recording to somehow STAY on the recording device? They must have some magick or something that will accomplish that! And that you cannot just record a song, without,say, recording the lead-in from the DJ and the commercial afterwards (surrounding content)?

    They just don't get it. If people want your songs for free, they will get it. One way or another. Goddamnit, how long will it take them to realize this so I don't have to see the "**AA is trying to steal our rights again" versus "Our revenues (and even the hard working music store clerk too!!) are going to be devistated! Waaah!" get rehashed over and over and over.

    And the sad thing is most of whats out there on commercial radio I wouldn't care about even if it was truly FREE from the get go.

    Blah.

    • Surely we don't expect someone to start publishing instructions for "analog audio recording into your storage device"?

      Yeah, we lose a few bits of quality but hey, it's what people have been doing for decades. I just hope the RIAA don't start using DRM'ed brain implants so there's no analog audio at all... *rolls eyes*
    • The new 2005 telecom law [wikipedia.org] is 72.4% magical. It's still in committee, but the whole concept that "Broadband Video" (loosely defined) should be regulated in a manner remotely similar to current cable operators [1] [paperlined.org] is a slightly absurd on its face.

      I think that most people in government don't fully realize how dramatically different digital networked things are from what they're used to legislating about.

  • It is CD quality (Score:3, Informative)

    by no_opinion ( 148098 ) on Tuesday September 20, 2005 @11:31AM (#13605243)
    iBiquity [ibiquity.com] is the company that created and licenses the HD Radio technology and they say that it is CD quality [ibiquity.com]. I would not expect the broadcasters to be that interested in spending millions of dollars to roll out something that sounds equivalent to what they have now.
    • Well, the press release I found says 'sound similar to CD quality' whatever that means.

      I suspect that if it really was CD quality they would come out and say so.

      • (Disclaimer - I am a former iBiquity employee...)

        Broadcasters may choose to reduce the bit-rate of their primary (audio) program in order to make room for additional audio or potentially other services. (This information is readily available at ibiquity.com.) Thus, the audio quality is - as has historically been the case - largely dependent on the individual broadcaster.

        As well, the topic of 'audio quality/fidelity' is a highly subjective topic. There are plenty of audiophiles who don't like CD's...
        • the topic of 'audio quality/fidelity' is a highly subjective topic. There are plenty of audiophiles who don't like CD's...

          Quality is objective and measurable. Tastes are not. Some people prefer vacuum tube sound, despite of its higher noise and distortion levels. They feel the noise and distortion make the sound "richer" or "smoother" or whatever is their favorite adjective. Good for them.

          However, that has nothing to do with quality/fidelity. If you define "fidelity" as being as close to the original sound

    • dude it sounds worse than a 112Kbit mp3.

      it is "slightly better" than a properly set up FM analog broadcast station. and yes, most stations are NOT set up correctly. There is a station in Lansing, MI 106.1 that sounds at least 5 times better than any other station in the state has decent stereo seperation and is completely due to them not compressing the ever living hell out of the audio in irder to "sound louder than the other stations" your metal and rock stations set the audio compression so far up to

  • this is... (Score:3, Interesting)

    by xao gypsie ( 641755 ) on Tuesday September 20, 2005 @11:32AM (#13605250)
    ...really disturbing. Whatever my bias may be, it is hard not to consider that the riaa is simply trying to control everything. What about college radio stations that play indipendent music, or when the radio plays artists that arent really concerned about piracy issues? It looks more and more like the riaa are becoming control freaks...

  • Hmm.. (Score:4, Funny)

    by Ikn ( 712788 ) <rsmith29.alumni@nd@edu> on Tuesday September 20, 2005 @11:34AM (#13605272) Homepage
    I just took a micro cassette recorder, and recorded myself farting onto a snare drum. I wonder how long it will be before the RIAA says that is copyright protected.

    • Notice from the RIAA (Score:5, Funny)

      by doublem ( 118724 ) on Tuesday September 20, 2005 @12:09PM (#13605689) Homepage Journal
      Dear Sir / Madame,

      It has come to our attention that you have illegality produced and recorded a reproduction of track 5 on the 2005 release "Brittany Spears Favorite Outtakes"

      If you do not comply with the following within 48 hours, we will pursue legal action against you to seize all properly listed under your name and garnish your wages for damages.

      Send all recordings to us.

      Destroy the snare drum used in the creation of this track. Send us the remains.

      Send us the micro cassette recorder.

      Send us any and all hardware you possess capable of recording audio, video or still images in an analog or digital format.

      Pay $30,000 in damages for each copy of the recording produced.

      Pay an additional $90,000 in damages for each copy of the recording distributed by yourself or others.

      Have a nice day.

      The RIAA

    • Re:Hmm.. (Score:3, Funny)

      by Dcnjoe60 ( 682885 )
      I don't know about the RIAA, but I believe that Microsoft has a patent on producing wind against a tightly stretched membrane while storing the effect on a magnetic media.

  • Way to go, RIAA... (Score:2, Insightful)

    by Kreldon ( 31202 ) *
    ...treat your customers as criminals and expect 'em to like it. And, as other posters noted, most of the manufactured, fake, top-40 pop shit on modern corporate radio isn't worth listening to (let alone pirating) in the first place.

    So, RIAA, I have four words to say: fuck off and die.

    Potential Ask Slashdot: how to get started with independent/non-RIAA artists, music, and online services -- particularly if your tastes run towards older music?

  • Our dear leaders... (Score:4, Interesting)

    by loraksus ( 171574 ) on Tuesday September 20, 2005 @11:39AM (#13605327) Homepage
    The differences between analog and digital can seem numerous and great - especially if you get a couple thousand on the side from the people presenting these "facts" to you.

    I got to the point a little while ago where I'm not completely blaming the RIAA etc for pushing stupid legislation but for the politicians in accepting it. If stupid legislation gets passed, we really only have a small group of people to blame.
  • Since they stated that the quality is not excellent to begin with, I doubt anyone would have a problem with just sampling the analog output if they wanted to record it.
  • This is not an attempt to place blanket copy protection on radio broadcasts.

    This is an attempt to prevent TIVO-like devices from recording on any other basis than "as-broadcast." You want to record a song? No problem, according to the request. You want your DAR to record every song played by a certain artist? Not allowed.

    The broadcast industry wants to preserve their ability to send advertising to their audiences. The recording industry wants to preservce their ability to sell albums to the public.

  • Always ask for more than you want (Score:3, Insightful)

    by Weaselmancer ( 533834 ) on Tuesday September 20, 2005 @11:43AM (#13605379)

    Even if it doesn't make sense. That way, when they whittle you down to something less, they feel like they've accomplished something. Meanwhile, you get what you want.

    We all know the tactic. It's like salary negotiations during an interview.

  • Distribution Channels (Score:3, Insightful)

    by rlp ( 11898 ) on Tuesday September 20, 2005 @11:44AM (#13605389)
    I don't own an XM radio. I can't see buying one and then paying for a monthly subscription to listen to crappy music. If the RIAA succeeds it'll reduce the value proposition even further.

    1) Kill off all the distribution channels for your product.
    2) ????
    3) Profit!!

  • RIAA= (Score:2, Interesting)

    by beowulfy ( 897757 )
    Really Incompetent Assholes of America

  • Time of Adoption? (Score:5, Insightful)

    by bleaknik ( 780571 ) <jamal.h.khan@gma ... m minus math_god> on Tuesday September 20, 2005 @11:45AM (#13605404) Homepage Journal
    Ok, I have no motivation whatsoever right now to adopt any new form of radio, and this further demotivates me.

    These people keep thinking they can control everything that we think, do, or say. When the founders of the USA wrote the bill of rights and drafted our first laws, they had no intention whatsoever that they would be abused this way.

    Software patents? Now I cannot program an application that is an interface for presenting and displaying playback information on a portable device because microsoft owns the patent? Come on. Lame.

    Music? I'm sorry, but I have no realistic alternative to buying the CD if I want to listen to music. Radio sucks (ok, the commercials more than anything else), and I have no good reason to pay 99 cents for a song on iTunes. I, for one, like the pretty box.

    I have no doubt that HDTV might have been pushed forth a lot sooner if anyone settled on a standard. Instead, they've been debating the different ways to present the media, and most recently the biggest qualm is with the feared broadcast flag. If it weren't for things like broadcast flag, I'm sure I could have been watching Sonic SatAM in HD 12 years ago.

    Need another point? BluRay or HD-DVD? Nope. The biggest debate I've seen is piracy control. Encryption schemes, manufacturing processes, etc. The studios are leaning away from HD-DVD because they basically utilize the same technology as existing DVDs, but BluRay didn't have the must have CSS (Consumer Screwed Severely) version 2.0.

    Bloody hell. Instead of promoting innovation, this system promotes stagnation. I for one, am sick and tired of it. And anyone who questions that... I'd like to point out that, while aural recording techniques have dramatically improved over the past 20 years, we're still using the same basic late 70s/early 80s tech to record most of the world's CDs. I know there's nothing wrong with the proven tech, but why do CDs still run $16 a pop?

    • I know there's nothing wrong with the proven tech, but why do CDs still run $16 a pop?

      I remember $15 CDs from the end of the 80s when I bought my first real CD, remember those really long cardboard boxes they came in? Anyway...

      The fact that the prices are largely similar in 2005 is somewhat cool. Using an inflation calculator at http://www.westegg.com/inflation/ [westegg.com] the cost of a $15 CD in 1988 would be equivalent to $24.34 today. If pricing pressures can keep the price around the same, it'll continue to g

  • Will somebody please explain how the analog hole works to the RIAA .... oh never mind


  • One of the many possible misuses of these broadcasts, given the many audio editing software tools out there today, would be the recording and editing of these broadcasts to make broadcasters appear to take positions (political, ethical, or other) that are the exact opposite of what they actually represent.

    Listen to the Don and Mike radio show and sooner or later you will hear edited audio of Govenor Arnold S. of California espousing positions exactly opposite of his stated ones.

    Like him or not, copyrigh
    • Listen to the Don and Mike radio show and sooner or later you will hear edited audio of Govenor Arnold S. of California espousing positions exactly opposite of his stated ones.
      Like him or not, copyright of digital broadcasts could give originators of content the legal protection they need to limit others from       engaging in constitutionally protected political satire.

      Fixed it for you.

  • I don't care about recording, saving, or anything. Nothing broadcast on the radio is worth keeping.

    All I want is to timeshift the am broadcasts of baseball games by about 3 seconds so they mathc up with the (satellite) television broadcast I'm watching. Any simple way to do that one?
  • here comes the usual "radio is dead" comments

    radio may be dead if you live in the middle of nowhere and get one pop station

    i live in midtown manhattan, so i get unbelievable listening choices over radio... everything from classical to jazz to country to bbc to classic rock to one station that plays reggaeton nonstop all day, would that ever appeal to me

    and for such a listener as me, i chose the iRiver IFP-180T simply because it has a radio tuner, and would never buy an iPod, because i can't believe apple wo

  • I wish the RIAA had more gold and platinum albums to award, so they aren't so bored into doing crap like this.

    And for another topic?

    What other forms of business where the business model is to put your product over the freely available air waves and then require the government to lessen the freedom's of its people in order to protect that business?

    WTF?

    Did the government decide VHS or beta? What about the DVD format?

    Beef, its what's for dinner!
  • As long as people's response to RIAA depradations on our rights to use the content we own fairly are met with only defensive actions, they'll never stop. We need to put people representing fair copyright use on the RIAA board of directors. Like FSF people, or Archive.org people, or others from the "Creative Commons" community. People making digital recordings all day long, of content and apps, who want the widest possible use of our recordings. Where do I apply?
  • Since we keep on hearing the RIAA and MPAA wanting to apply these flags to prevent any sort of copying, I was wondering whether people would accept something else: degraded copies.

    The idea being that you can record anything off the air, but video quality is reduced to that of an average VHS and audio to that of an audio tape. This was you can at least have a local copy, but it isn't as good as the one you can get in the shops. This may sound like what Macrovision tries to do, except Macrovision varies the c
  • This seems to me to be related, at least in part, to the practice of having governments prop-up certain industries. I personally see no actual good coming from this. As an example, if the government would simply let one of the airlines fold and go under, it would bolster all the others, sooner or later, via increased business.

    I think the *AA are asking the government to protect their businesses, and doing so without thorough reasoning. If the *AA members cannot continue to make money with their current busi
  • Then I'd like to make sure that we make this wonderful technology available first to the RIAA.

    Mitosis error 432: Copy protected media found
  • It's getting to the point where the best solution is to start making your own music - the RIAA is doing their best to make their member's products (music) undesirable ones.

    Time to dust off my trombone, get some more GarageBand loops, a decent mic...

  • Now I will no longer miss being in radio (Score:3, Interesting)

    by unitron ( 5733 ) on Tuesday September 20, 2005 @12:03PM (#13605626) Homepage Journal
    "(1) Request that Congress grant express authority to the Federal Communications Commission to protect digital broadcasts from illegal copying and redistribution;..."

    Notice it says digital broadcasts, not just the songs that might be part of the broadcasts, because it'll certainly be cheaper to make the whole bitstream uncopy-able than to add a circuit to the receiver to turn protection on and off at the beginning and end of each song.

    So, if I were still working as an announcer, I wouldn't even be able to record a digital aircheck of my own voice unless I took the post D/A converter analog audio and converted it back to digital, and we can all guess how easy that will be once the RIAA can dictate design and features to manufacturers.

  • You're misunderstanding the goal (Score:3, Interesting)

    by stlhawkeye ( 868951 ) on Tuesday September 20, 2005 @12:04PM (#13605633) Homepage Journal
    The goal here is to establish a precedent that can be used in other media.

    "Well, we've got it for radio, why not for CD's? Or cable TV?"

  • I mean, honestly, they don't seem interested in distributing music, just denying people access to it.

    They have taken ANY modern form of music distribution and ignored any possiblity of adapting to a new industry of music NOT distributed in a physical state like tapes or disks.

    What I don't understand is why musicians don't just dump the RIAA period. There is no legal reason for the RIAA to exist and I really doubt they are a comittee acting in the best interests of the muscians, just suits looking out for t

  • I should take a picture of my finger (guess which one), place it in the public domain, and send it to all **AA organizations.

    This freely-distributable, public domain, royalty free image will present a far more powerful message than any of the current valueless pop-culture tripe that **AA is so adamant about protecting.
  • is the real problem. Piracy as I see it seems to be the only thing controlling prices on the music. Steve Jobs has just stated [com.com] that Apple will resist price changes at the iTunes store. He cites their greed as the only motivation to increase the price. I have seen many recording artist (some still in their teens) that wealthy that they will not have work again in their lives. That is true today as it was 50 years. So, what is piracy real impact? I am no advocate for piracy but stopping piracy completely wil

  • Two Words (Score:3, Insightful)

    by foqn1bo ( 519064 ) on Tuesday September 20, 2005 @12:30PM (#13605989)
    Fuck Them.

  • The true reason to convert to digital (Score:3)

    by nurb432 ( 527695 ) on Tuesday September 20, 2005 @07:45PM (#13610142) Homepage Journal
    The only reason is to lock the broadcast. Any other excuse is just that. A marketing excuse to take control.

    And i grew up not trusting the government for these reasons, but they are amateurs compared to the 'media'.

    Sad state we have reached, really.

  • Quality? (Score:3, Informative)

    by Jon Peterson ( 1443 ) <jon.snowdrift@org> on Wednesday September 21, 2005 @03:21AM (#13611786) Homepage
    Never mind that digital audio broadcasting is not significantly greater in quality than regular, analog radio



    Well, not in the UK. Digital Audio Broadcast (aka digital radio) has much better quality than FM - and that's assuming you can get good FM reception, which is rare here.

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