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April 25, 2005

NYC Podcasting Association

I just joined a Meetup group for New York City Podcasters (and the surrounding area...)

http://podcasting.meetup.com/33/

We're having an interesting discussion about the legal issues of playing music in podcasts, a subject I'm pretty interested in. It's a public forum, so go on over and check it out:

http://podcasting.meetup.com/33/boards/view/viewthread?thread=1364957

Here's my latest post framing my position:

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Re: [LEGAL] Music in Podcasts
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Frank said:

In general, podcasters playing music without proper licensing are not criminal masterminds, they're people excited by the possibilities of a new medium who are innocently creating shows with the music they love, not understanding the law. Most podcasters have extrememly small audiences (under 100) and are making no money at all from their efforts. Yes, they are most likely violating the letter of the law - but it is not with malicious intent. And for most of them, faced with the reality of the cost and resources required to be compliant with the law, they'd probably just quit rather than attempt to comply.

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intro
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Well said, Frank. I'm coming from a similar place. To me, the idea of making money from the podcast I'd like to do is irrelevant. At this point, I'd gladly pay money to be able to communicate with others using music as the central topic. I come from punk rock and DIY, and remember a time when college radio defined a genre called Alternative music, because it was actually an alternative to what was getting played on the radio. Today, Alternative isn't an alternative at all - it's mainstream.

Back in my youth, I loved a song by Eugene Chadbourne called "Break the Law Everyday." To me, it meant smoking pot when I felt like it, taking other mind bending drugs too illegal to admit to in this forum, and the occasional theft of a CD from The Warehouse... (okay - so it wasn't so "occasional!") Today I have a family and assets in my name. I don't want to get sued for something stupid like playing music over the internet. I can't afford that kind of a hit.

I'm still a punk, and I hate the mainstream alternative music that pretends to be edgy. I'd rather tell the tale of the New York Dolls, Iggy and the Stooges, and the Velvet Underground. Talking Heads, Blondie, and the Ramones. The Damned, the Sex Pistols and the Buzzcocks. Black Flag, X, the Circle Jerks, the Minutemen and the Dead Kennedys. Green River, Soundgarden and of course, Nirvana. The end of an era came when Kurt Cobain blew his brains out... he couldn't live with what he knew was about to happen to the music he worshipped, with his wife, or with his drug habit anymore.

I'm talking about the origins of punk rock, the New York scene, the UK scene, the West Coast scene, the Grunge scene, and the end of an era. Those were the times in which I grew up.

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legal and opinion
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Speaking of the legal issues, I have a lawyer and I've consulted with him on this matter. There is no existing license I can get to do what I want to do. You can get a pretty nifty web license for about $300 bucks a year - ASCAP License 2.0, but it only covers streaming, not downloads. Podcasting is inherently a download, which to be legal requires a mechanical license to make reproductions of a copyrighted work.

Podcasting to me, is just a word soon to become extinct. Are you still podcasting if you're streaming onto someone's phone? This is where this game is headed. Is a download subject to the same restrictions, if the download expires due to Digital Rights Management (DRM)? What kind of a license did Napster acquire for it's Napster To Go service? I'm a customer of that service, and let me tell you... IT ROCKS! I'm considering trying something new and doing my show using Skype.

Ultimately, all this concern is futile. Like I used to record college radio with my cassette player, I can record Napster To Go through my headphone output on my laptop. But you know what? I don't. I will remain a subscriber, because the price point is acceptable to me. For the cost of one CD per month, I can listen to whatever I want when and where I want to.

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about me
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I mentioned in the first meeting, but will repeat it here for the record. I work for a company that builds the online music stores for radio stations. I was hired to build the front end software in Flash with a small team of developers, and have since attained the title of Production Manager and am responsible for all of our software development including the deployment of new stations. To see an example of my work, go to the WPLJ Music Store.

It's funny that I've become "that guy" working for the traditional radio business in a Microsoft based DRM environment for that doesn't even support Macs (yet). With that said, I must admit - I *like* Windows Media, but have been struggling to bond with my new iRiver Portable Media Center (PMC-120). I develop consumer software myself, and have a lot of criticism for the current implementation of the software on the device and also for Windows Media Player 10. I've been working with Windows Media Encoder 9 for quite a while though, and think it's pretty easy to use and generates good results. I expect the software to develop over time, and am interested in talking with others about the Windows Media DRM paradigm and the alternatives. I'm a big Linux fan, and still use my iMac DV running OSX at home on a daily basis. We bought a Mac Mini at my office to run out our production files from Flash, and I use that 5 days a week. I dislike the iPod's dominance in the music industry, but respect Steve Jobs' ability to accomplish what once seemed impossible.

My favorite podcasts come from ITConversations, Adam Curry and Dawn and Drew. I've been listening to the podcasts from people in this group, and look forward to giving that feedback personally ;-)

Posted by Steve Warren at April 25, 2005 1:07 PM

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