Category Archives: radio

creative commons, Internet Radio, jamendo, Music, Personal, radio, rock, Technology

The Future of The Internet Radio Hobbyist

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This year there has a been a twist in the Pro’s and Internet Radio Broadcasters  story. The once Reliable and Affordable Licensing company named Stream Licensing stopped paying ASCAP and there has been talk of them not reporting info to other PROs such as B.M.I.and Sound exchange. They claim the ASCAP issue is due to overpayment and they stopped paying them due to such, to me this is irresponsible and is a disservice to the clients they represent.  They are Doing some nice dodging and weaving through emails promising things that are not realistic such as buying a radio station which they owned for some time prior and that is not licensed and talking about  ownership options etc.

I have read a post stating a former SL client filing complaints to the Law officials in Florida and some complaints possibly going to the FCC as well about the situation. Do I think Streamlicensing.com part of Stardom Media is being fraudulent? I can not tell you since there is always more to the story than you can find. But I do find it quite unethical to not pay the ASCAP fees and not let us know when they began doing so, they waited almost 6 to 8 months before notifying us and it was mainly due to ASCAP sending out emails.

Ok That said at the moment I would suggest avoiding SL until they get their records and licensing in order. This only leaves most of us hobbyists with a few options, paying ascap directly and forking out 200+ dollars.(outside of my budget) Moving to live365.com and be very restricted far as how you can listen to the music (all web based no direct link for Media Players etc.) and pay about the same amount and have to go with their broadcast servers, Radionomy which is a pain to keep going and you must meet quotas to keep the station up along with they are only web based or app. based in the USA. Then the next to last option of playing only Creative Commons Music, which I love but it limits what listener base  you will receive.

The only 2 options left are Closing down the Station or go through the painstaking process of contacting each record company, artists etc. to get a waiver to play their music. Their may be many artists who would sign waivers to keep their exposure up via the internet streaming since mainstream radio stations don’t play them often since they are not the popular bands or of the popular genres.

The thing is I went legal out of my desire to not only be legit but to support those artists, songwriters etc. they do deserve money for their works, but the amount that we must pay in internet streaming is quite high, and since advertisers are not too willing to support internet streams unless they are owned by some big media corp. etc. it makes it hard to even make any revenue to offset the cost of playing the music we all love.

I think one thing that really makes me mad is how many PRO’s there is and how complicated it is to get covered and to be legal, you would think that they would get together and form a one stop  shop for licensing and make it affordable and a monthly payment.  They would have more on board being legal for one thing and they wouldn’t have issues like they are at the moment with such places like Stream Licensing.

Now I Call out for Artists, Songwriters, Composers and Record companies to get into the game and try to find a solution that can help the broadcasters within the new media category become the new way to get artists exposure and raise capitol along with making it an affordable venture for the small broadcasters. There must be some way all the PRO’s and those associated with the Music industry can work together and find a way to make it good for all of us involved.

I really Hope Stream Licensing gets their act together and do what is right by their clients, after this month I may just move on to live365, play Creative Commons Licensed music  or  Even kill the station . Sad But its a Fact of life when your just a guppy in a ocean of sharks and whales I guess.

Feel free to leave comments on the Stream Licensing situation as well as the options out there for the little guppy broadcasters 😀

God Bless

Raymond Barbier

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Stand together -SMALL WEBCASTERS, ARTISTS, & INDIE LABELS

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SMALL WEBCASTERS, ARTISTS, & INDIE LABELS

STAND TOGETHER

The expiration of the Webcaster Settlement Act has left many small webcasters facing a steep increase in royalty rates and unsure of their future survival.

We support fair and transparent payment to artists and rightsholders when their work is used. We also recognize that small broadcasters are vitally important to musical culture, whether it’s small community FM stations or online webcasters who program niche music and artists you might not hear elsewhere. Commercial FM radio is increasingly focused on narrow repetitive playlists due to consolidation in station ownership.Since the 1996 Telecommunications Act, massive companies like Clear Channel (now called ‘I Heart Radio’) have bought up hundreds of local radio stations, fired local DJs and programmers, and replaced them with robots playing nearly identical narrow playlists in every city. By contrast, webcasting reflects far greater diversity—from cutting edge releases by contemporary artists to America’s rich and varied musical traditions. And unlike commercial FM, internet radio pays musicians and labels.

We believe artists and small webcasters are on the same team. Let’s keep it that way!

We’re optimistic that a solution can be found to allow many small commercial webcasters to continue to operate, and ensure that great music continues to get played and artists continue to get paid—directly, transparently and fairly

For More info and join in the fight click the logo below

Stand together -SMALL WEBCASTERS, ARTISTS, & INDIE LABELS was originally published on RJB Networks

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A sad month for Music lovers and the Music Industry as well.

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January is the month of loss, We have lost 2 greats of the music industry. The world has lost both the Eagles founder, Glenn Frey, in New York City on Monday, January 18th, 2016. and David Bowie died peacefully today surrounded by his family after a courageous 18 month battle with cancer on  January 10 2016. Also this january we have lost live365.com due to the royalty increase and their loss of a sponsor as well. Sad month indeed for the music industry and all the music lovers out there.

 

R.I.P Glen Frey & David Bowie

Ray Barbier

RJB Networks / RJB Radio

A sad month for Music lovers and the Music Industry as well. was originally published on RJB Networks

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Radio licensing price hikes and the negative impact.

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Once again I watch big business and greed close another great resource for music artists is closing its doors. Seems Live365 which has been around for a long time giving us the working class a chance to play dj and radio producer is closing its doors or at least it is on the verge of doing so. The Licensing organizations are mostly the blame with the rate hikes and the removal of small webcaster rates. The majority f those running radio stations on live365 were hobbyists who made little or no kind of profit at broadcasting.  Most of them broadcasted music all out of the love they had for the artists and the music. Not only has live365 taken a hit from the licensing cost increase but so has streamlicensing.com , though at the moment they are in negotiations trying to find a decent rate between them, there is always the possibility there will be no agreement. This will be another blow to the hobbyist and small broadcasters out there. The thing is most broadcasters want to pay their royalties and be legal, most of us want the artists and song writers etc. to receive their fair share. But what makes it hard is many of us are non profit, we don’t charge for the services, don’t promote any products and have no kind of monetary gain. We pay for our servers, the music to play and all other fees out of our pocket. Stations that are like that will probably suffer the most if not close down. Of course there is the creative commons licensed music option, which is one I myself will take if it comes down to it. Many great musicians release creative commons licensed music and its legal to broadcast most as long as you don’t do any paid advertisements on the station of the page. Can not make money in any way that is connected to the station if you do the CC licensed route. Well you can if you get a license from the artists or places such as Jamendo.com. Which is always an alternative if you make money via your station but can not afford the new rates.

I wish the Licensing organizations would see how much money they will lose if they force all of us small and hobbyist radio stations off line or to play CC licensed. Small Fries always have the hardest road to follow in the world of business and entertainment.

 

Ray Barbier

Radio licensing price hikes and the negative impact. was originally published on RJB Networks

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Radio Resources and Licensing

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Jamendo , a large Creative Commons Licensed Music warehouse. a Great resource for internet radio broadcasters / D.J.s , they have a multitude of genres to choose from and all of the music is released under one of the creative commons licensing. They also offer commercial licensing for those big companies out there. Most internet radio stations are hobby level and do not generate revenue so they can utilize the music for free as long as they go by the licensing terms. Now for those who just love music and want the mp3s for personal listening Jamendo and the creative commons licensing scheme is just right for you. Most of the music is free to download, burn to cd, load on your mp3 player and give to friends as well. Now I will tell you the Artists on Jamendo may be unsigned and less known but that does not take away from their talent or quality of their music. The nice thing about unsigned and indie bands is they are not influenced by a label / record company. So you get some really unique and awesome music from such bands.

Another Website I shall mention in this post is streamlicensing.com, This site is for those wishing to be a legally ran radio station on line and play Signed artists. This is a affordable alternative to negotiating contracts with such companies as A.S.C.A.P. etc.  Pricing is based on 3 factors, 1. the amount of hours your station is listened to, 2. the amount of Revenue your station generates and 3. the amount of money you spend on the station. So the bigger you get the more you pay, but most never leave the first level in the pricing scheme. Well until the next time may the music fill your heart and mind.

Sites Mentioned in this Article:

  1. www.jamendo.com
  2. www.streamlicensing.com

Radio Resources and Licensing was originally published on RJB Networks

Computers, Music, radio, Technology

Starting a internet radio station for free

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Starting your own internet radio station is pretty simple now days and there are several ways to do so. You can broadcast directly from your pc using shoutcast and winamp, pay for a shoutcast server with a auto DJ and last but not least you can create a free account at radionomy.

In future posts I shall cover more of the other methods of starting a internet radio station, in this post I am going to focus on radionomy. Radionomy is not only a free way to start r listen to internet radio,  Radionomy is now the owner of Shoutcast and Winamp. For a free platform they provide a pretty good scheduling system within their radio manager. You can upload 1000 files to start with for you radio and they also have music available from their own catalog . The best part is Radionomy takes responsibility for the licensing required to be a legal broadcast. That’s right no worries about the copyright police knocking on your door.

“Radionomy is a free groundbreaking platform that is changing the way people from around the world create, discover, and listen to Internet radio. Radionomy provides everyone from artist and celebrities to professional broadcasters and music lovers with the tools and infrastructure to create, broadcast, promote and monetize their own online radio stations completely free of charge”

radionomy1-370x220

Click logo above to visit Radionomy.com

Starting a internet radio station for free was originally published on RJB Networks

Computers, creative commons, E-Books, jamendo, radio, T.V.

The new TV, Internet Television

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www,domain,internet,web,net
Image via Wikipedia

  Digital Media is becoming the norm now days, with mp3/mp4 players and hdmi HD video streaming available from the net to your TV there is very little left to explore. There is of course shoutcast a long living internet radio streaming system and Orb a full media streaming system for pc and Mac. So much to choose from and so little effort required to set up almost any type of multimedia system. Places like Jamendo.com and Archive.org give people the ability to find creative commons licensed and public domain movies, music and E-books. Don’t forget about Google books another good source for free and creative commons licensed E-books.

  So much to choose from with the world wide web at ones fingertips and thus a new network is growing. The World Wide Multimedia Net, Information in all media formats and entertainment at your fingertips. I foresee a struggle from cable companies and satellite providers to stop the newer form of media transmission but eventually they will adapt and turn what now is free and cheap to another expensive commercial ran entertainment venue. In time they will take over just like they did in all other previous media services and push the hobbyist and small business people out of the new market.

This had already happened in the internet radio industry, the big music companies made it almost impossible for a hobbyist to legally run a internet based radio station. They lobbied congress until a bill was passed to force hobbyist to pay high priced loyalties even if their station didn’t earn money and was for fun or not. Given time the same will happen to the video sites we enjoy and the creative commons movement if we don’t support their efforts.

Maybe if we are lucky the new media revolution on the web for video will not succumb to the same fate as the internet radio stations. Would be nice to have Internet TV that is both commercial and hobbyist in order to keep the programming affordable and diverse. But more than likely the big boys of the corporate world will once again squeeze all of the little guys out before they have a chance to grow.

Well enough Ranting for now
Peace to All
Raymond Barbier

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Civilwar, Computers, convey, creative commons, Music, radio, rock

RJB-Radio has launched

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Well one of my many pet projects has launched. its a shoutcast based Internet radio station

Only 10 listener ports at the moment, considering my min wage job it amazing I could even

afford that from a server host. The music is all Creative commons licensed so no copywrite worries and you can go to www.jamendo.com to download the albums of the artists I play.No commercials and only a occasional station id plug 🙂 you can visit its web site at http://rjbradio.barbierfamilly.com