The RIAA is behind a new royalty scheme aimed at killing Internet radio. The Copyright Royalty Board approved new rates proposed by SoundExchange. SoundExchange is the RIAA’s royalty collection agency.   The new royalty rates involve performance fees for recorded music. A performance is any instance of a song being played back or ...

Do you still use little shiny discs? It’s time to fast forward to the 21st century - these days music fans are syncing up to streaming media. Slim Devices SqueezeBox has finally made it affordable to let Wi-Fi go Hi-Fi. Media streamers are media players that that connect to your household network. They play back a variety of media file formats ...

If there’s one piece of truly good news coming out of the pending merger between XM and Sirius satellite radio, it’s the spreading of Howard Stern’s wise word.  The official King of Shock Jock radio – known for his stripper interviews and “smallest wiener” contests – is now asking U.S. pop TV fans to help throw American Idol.  ...

Can a bureaucracy with no regulatory apparatus to balance ends justification of means be truly evil? You bet! The debate came up recently on Gizmodo in the guise of a debate on the true intentions of the RIAA (Recording Industry Association of America). For the uninitiated the RIAA purports to protect artists and the music industry at large by ...

The XM and Sirius merger means a whole lot to the fifteen people who actually use satellite radio.  Granted, I’m exaggerating; some 15 million subscribers exist in North America alone, and many of these listeners are extremely passionate about the medium.  With XM and Sirius hoping to play for the same team in the future, the ...

The proposed merger between Sirius and XM satellite radio probably won’t help the ailing companies. Not everybody is happy about the idea of a merger. Last time I blogged on this topic I looked at how the National Association of Broadcasters were calling the merger a form of government handouts.   Just yesterday XM and Sirius ...

What happens when you get an iPod full of hi-bit AAC and Apple Lossless files, a hi-fi Tube Headphone amp and two of the finest headphones together? Not much work if you like music. Steve Pell came by my cubicle today and insisted I get nothing done by plunking down a pair of Sennheiser HD595s on my desk for a listen. The headphones are a ...

It’s been rumored for days, and now it appears the merge between XM and Sirius Satellite Radio is official.  Although roadblocks have stalled proceedings for a while, the agreement was reached courtesy of a $13 billion deal that includes a net debt of some $1.6 billion.  While XM currently holds more subscribers, Sirius possesses a ...

Ever take a moment to ponder the current price of music CDs?  Back when I was in high school, perusing Music World, HMV, and Sunrise aisles for Smashing Pumpkins and Foo Fighters records, compact discs generally ran from about $13 to $25 (for older, less in-demand stuff).  It meant that each purchase, especially for a poor grocery ...

Q: Which US Senators are in the back pocket of the RIAA? A: Which US Senators put forth the new “Platform Equality and Remedies for Right Holders in Music Act”? This time the RIAA is using its political clout to attack Satellite Radio and brought some friends from the US Senate. Mitch Bainwol, President of the Recording Industry Association of ...