Is a Radio Button Coming to Your Smartphone?
The record industry used to be the model of a closed loop marketing system. Record labels controlled the stream of music. Radio supported the releases, as did press and retail. Each area was paid indirectly or directly for their loyalty. And by controlling the flow of music, labels also controlled the flow of money. The system was financially steady for everyone...
By Celia Hirschman • • 2m ListenThis is Celia Hirschman with On the Beat for KCRW.
Arcade Fire and Eminem top the sales charts, thousands of other releases vanish in obscurity. Retail space is endless, press is fragmented, and radio must now compete with gaming, the Internet television and video. The music flow is on, full blast, but the audience isn't necessarily paying attention.
reporting that the NAB, (or National Association of Broadcasters) and the RIAA (or Recording Industry Association of America) have reached a compromise on this sticky issue. The solution is, not surprisingly, a win-win for themselves. Radio would pay $100 million a year in royalty fees. The record labels and artists would finally get that performance royalty they've been fighting for. And under this agreement, Congress would mandate that all cell phones and PDA's include an FM radio chip. Broadcast radio pays music royalties, and simultaneously gains a new marketplace.
On the Beat for KCRW.