[opendtv] Attack of the Radio Clones
- From: Monty Solomon <monty@xxxxxxxxxx>
- To: undisclosed-recipient: ;
- Date: Sat, 18 Sep 2004 22:34:50 -0400
Attack of the Radio Clones
By Randy Dotinga
02:00 AM Sep. 17, 2004 PT
Generic mouthwashes claim to be just as good as Listerine, and
store-brand paper towels invite consumers to compare them to Bounty.
This kind of marketing doesn't raise many eyebrows. But what if an
online radio station says it's just "like" New York City's Z100 or
L.A.'s KROQ, and manages to sound pretty much the same?
Good question. Soon, the world's largest software company, a staunch
defender of its own copyrights, may have to answer it in court.
Earlier this month, Microsoft began charging users to listen to
online clones of 978 U.S. and Canadian radio stations with '"fewer
ads, no DJ chatter and less repetition." And no, Bill Gates didn't
ask the stations for permission to copy their playlists.
Irony, anyone? "Microsoft is going to be on the side of 'You don't
own information.' Isn't that interesting," says Doris Estelle Long ,
professor of internet law at the John Marshall Law School in Chicago.
"They're usually sticking up signs saying, 'Mine, mine, mine.' This
is a situation where they'll be on the other side of the fence."
The broadcasting industry, surprised by the debut of Microsoft's
Radio Plus service, hasn't reached full freak-out mode yet. But no
one is thrilled, either. "It's more of an annoyance at this point,
because webcasting doesn't have anything like an audience size that's
going to threaten radio right now," said Brida Connolly, technology
editor at trade journal Radio & Records . "But radio people are not
happy about it."
Not least of their gripes is the fact that Microsoft is dipping into
a database of radio station playlists without kicking back any of the
$30 Radio Plus yearly access fee to broadcasters.
...
http://www.wired.com/news/culture/0,1284,64984,00.html
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