Perfect Radio Station, Imperfect World - Page 6

Why is all this relevant to our discussion of the PRS? Because our PRS, by allowing users complete control over their playlist, steps over the line between Webcasting and audio on demand. If you could listen to any audio work in the known universe, at any time and any place, why would you ever need to buy a CD again?

Ah, so that's it! The PRS is not just a nifty gadget, but a concept that, when it becomes reality (and it will), will completely change the business model of the recording industry. Now, if an idle pundit such as yours truly can figure this out, it's plain that the various record companies have been thinking about it for some time. They've learned from experience that trying to get governments to outlaw or tax new technologies is a losing battle, as is trying to impose kludgey and intrusive copy- protection schemes.

The trouble is that they haven't yet figured out the best way to make money from Internet-based audio on demand, and until they do, they'll proceed cautiously. A surf through various record company and artist sites reveals many different approaches to making audio on demand available in a limited way. Many sites allow excerpts of songs to be downloaded, some allow a few selected tunes to be streamed in their entirety, and at least one (Alligator Records) lets you stream entire albums. But none that this writer has found allows unrestricted access to individual cuts on an on- demand basis, free or paid.

So, is it actually against the law to offer audio on demand? Certainly not. If you have the copyright holder's permission, you can do anything you please with a work. However, the RIAA, which administers the copyrights in recorded works, makes it easy to legally Webcast anything you please, but complex to set up legal audio on demand for signed artists.

The details are far beyond the scope of this column, but the crux of the matter is this (quoted from the RIAA's site):

"If you plan to offer a webcasting service, you may be eligible for a statutory webcasting license whereas if you plan to offer an interactive service, you will need to obtain rights from each copyright holder."

If you want to offer recordings on a more "interactive" basis, with the user having direct control over what selections are played when, then you must obtain a release from the individual copyright holder of every work you plan to use, which, even if those releases were forthcoming, would be an incredibly complex venture.

Note that the RIAA administers only the copyrights in recordings themselves. The composition that underlies a recording is also copyrighted, and those copyrights are administered by the performing rights organizations ASCAP, BMI and SESAC. One must also obtain performance licenses from these organizations, as detailed in the earlier article Building an Internet Radio Station.

There is of course nothing to prevent a record company (or other holder of a copyright) to offer their own products on an audio on demand basis. As noted above, none yet do so, except in limited ways. As music distribution moves online, however, and physical media become obsolete, they will have no choice but to do so. This means that they are going to have to deal with the copying issue one way or another. Interesting times indeed!

Of course, as this and many other writers have noted, the copying issue is no either/or proposition, but a matter of degree. A CD can be copied, and so can a Webcast. It's simply a question of how easy it is for people to make and distribute unauthorized copies, and how profitable it is to do so. If audio on demand can be offered at a low price (or perhaps even free to the end user, financed by advertising), the incentive to make illegal copies will be correspondingly low. Thus, the advent of universal audio on demand will almost certainly be no sudden revolution, but a gradual process that has already begun.

And begun it most certainly has. The Perfect Radio Station doesn't exist yet, but a few outfits are offering systems that come pretty close. In next month's column, we'll look at the most highly customizable Webcasting tools that now exist, and delve into the technical realm to see how they work. Until then, keep demanding your audio!

The Audio-On-Demand Genie - Page 5
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