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It's been over 100 years since Marconi traveled
to the United States to broadcast the results of the America's Cup Race.
And over eighty years since the first scheduled broadcasts began airing
in North America. All told, radio has had just over a century to figure
out how to do everything from broadcast election results to give you
great play-by-play of a baseball game. Why, then, has Internet radio
caused so many headaches and resulted in so much on-air silence? Why
did so many radio stations pull their online broadcasts, or streaming radio?
Go back just a few of months, and you might assume that it all boils down to the
American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (AFTRA)
wanting to get more money for the people it represents. According to AFTRA,
any time a commercial recorded for radio is played over the Internet,
the talent (or actors) in that commercial should get paid. In their
online
statement to the radio broadcasting industry, AFTRA explicitly
states that "fees generated under this contract (the AFTRA Radio Recorded
Commercials Contract) must be paid by the advertisers and the advertising
agencies, not by the radio stations."
Seems straightforward enough, so what's the problem? There doesn't seem to be much of a problem
if radio broadcasters figure out a way to remove or replace commercials
before they're rebroadcast online. In July, Clear Channel,
one of the nation's largest radio groups, plans to do just that when it
returns 250 stations to the Internet. ABC Radio is expected to rebroadcast
many of its radio stations as well.
Does that mean the problem is solved? Not quite. Though AFTRA clearly focuses on advertising
fees, it also raises the question of how recording artists should be
paid when their songs play online. With passage of the Digital Millennium
Copyright Act of 1998, the FCC agreed
that the 1995 Digital
Performance Right in Sound Recordings Act (DPRSA) applied
to Internet broadcasts as well as traditional radio. In other words,
anyone with an FCC license must pay royalties to either performers
or their labels when they rebroadcast their radio programs online.
AFTRA believes any additional payments should go directly to the artists. Their position,
and the general nature of the debate, concentrate on who gets the money.
And that is a very important point, but we're also talking about the
Internet, a place where anarchy reigns. When you type or click your
way onto the Internet you're entering a peculiar world, one that's
never really existed before in the history of humanity. Just imagine
the thousands upon thousands of people on the Internet at any given
moment. They often overlap at Web sites, see the same stuff, and then
follow links or their own bookmarks to other pages. Each link you follow
creates something like an online personality. Take a look at the
bookmarks,
or favorites on
your browser. They say a lot about you, don't they? They reflect your
interests in anything from shopping to sports to travel to news. They
also say a lot about why it's so very difficult to regulate the Internet.
When we go online, we bring ourselves into a world without borders. As I mentioned in
my last article, you can use the Internet
to listen to webcasts from as far away as China. That's not just a
geographic distance you can overcome, it's a cultural one, and, in
the end, a personal one. It's personal because you can choose what
you listen to on the Web. It's also personal because, in many cases,
you can actually interact with what you hear. Many stations that simulcast
on the Web, and even more stations that broadcast exclusively online,
offer listeners the chance to see what they're listening to. And that's
getting lost in this debate over royalties and advertising fees. The
Internet, through streaming media,
is offering something brand new and powerful. Not just videos, music,
and movies online, but the chance for anyone with a computer and a
modem (preferably 56k or above) to become a global citizen.
Right now, it looks like the AFTRA-induced silence of webcasts will soon be resolved. That's
good for people who rely for on the Web for news, music, and talk-radio
not available on their local AM and FM stations. It's great news for
people who see the Internet as tool for exploring the world outside
of what's familiar, and learning about things they'd otherwise never
see or hear.
One great thing about the Internet is that once you've got the hardware (computer, modem,
speakers, etc.) you don't have to take anything with you at all. It's
the ideal vehicle for people who like to travel light. Still, just
as good air conditioning makes a drive through the desert more relaxing,
the right equipment can make online travel a lot more fun. That's where
C. Crane comes in. We've got a couple of gadgets that are sure to make
online radio more enjoyable than ever. Along with the
FM Digital Transmitter mentioned
last week, there's also the
Archos Jukebox FM Recorder 20, a small device to help you get the
most out of your computer speakers.
Visit our C. Crane Catalog to preview these items. If there's a product that has improved
your online experience, and you would like us to carry it, please let us know.
As always, please e-mail
me with any comments or article suggestions you might have.
If you have a customer service or technical question, please send to
ccraneco@aol.com or call 1-800-522-8863.
Article Glossary
Marconi - "Guglielmo
Marconi invented his spark transmitter with antenna at his home in
Bologna, Italy, in December 1894. He took his "Black Box" to Britain
in Feb. 1896 and although it was broken by custom officials, he filed
for British Patent number 12039 on June 2, 1896. He formed his first
Wireless Telegraph and Signal Company in Britain in 1897 at age 23
and the world's first radio factory on Hall Street in Dec. 1898. The
American Marconi Co. was formed in 1899. Marconi controlled patents
for the Lodge 1900 tuner with dial, and Fleming 1904 valve that acted
as a diode tube to amplify electrical current in one direction. His
company sold spark transmitters to Navy for point-to-point transmission." This
excellent summary of Marconi's life is from the
History
of Radio Web site. Also visit the Marconi
Museum Web site.
America's Cup Race -
The America's Cup is one of the oldest races around today. Dating
back to 1851, it's designed as a one-on-one race between the cup's
champion and the most qualified challenger in the world of Yacht
racing. The winner goes home with a "Victorian silver ewer." There's
a word for the day, ewer.
Bookmarks -
In Netscape, and in several other browsers except Internet Explorer,
the bookmarks are lists of sites that you visit frequently. Many bookmarks
come preselected for you with a browser, but you can add your own and
delete the ones you don't use. If you're like me, your bookmarks list
can get pretty unmanageable, so it's good to go through and clean it
up once in a while. Netscape offers tips on how to use bookmarks in
the Help Contents section of their browser.
Favorites -
A lot like bookmarks, but they're called favorites in Internet Explorer
(IE) instead. Why? I don't know. I do know, however, that it can lead
to a lot of confusion if you have to go from Netscape to IE or vice
versa. To get help with favorites on IE, click on Help at the top of
the browser, then click on Contents and Index. Once the Help section
pops up, click on the Index tab and type "favorite." That should help
get you started, but be prepared for some trial and error when learning
how to use bookmarks and favorites.
Streaming media -
Streaming media is basically Internet-speak for radio, video, and
animation online. Stuff that streams into your computer doesn't
have to be downloaded completely for you to hear or see it. A lot
of online radio and video programs use streaming media, and it
works best with high-speed connections. RealPlayer, Windows Media
Player and QuickTime all use streaming media.
56k -
56k refers to a modem speed. A 56k modem connection means that your
computer can transfer a maximum of 56,700 bytes of information per
second (bps). Most 56k modems don't actually get that high a transfer
rate, however, because of online interference. A typical 56k connection
tends to average around 48,000 bps. If you want to connect to the Internet
at higher speeds, you'll probably need a
DSL line or a
cable modem.
To view our past articles, please visit our What's
in the News Archives.
As always, please e-mail me with any comments or
article suggestions you might have. If you have a customer service or technical question, please
send to ccraneco@aol.com or call 1-800-522-8863.
If you are interested in using C. Crane's articles on your own Web site,
please let me know. I’d be happy to take a look at your Web site and
see what we can do. Good-bye for now, Carlos. About
the author
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