SomaFM News and Articles

Special Halloween Programming on Doomed

rusty@somafm.com (Rusty Hodge [SomaFM]) — Fri, 30 Oct 2009 12:52:00 -0700

We've got special programming on Doomed for Halloween night, and it will be a great soundtrack for your Halloween events. The same great dark music you've come to expect with additional scary ambient sounds mixed in to make it more like Halloween should be: Extra Scary!

So tune into our commercial-free, special Halloween programming on Doomed all weekend long and set the mood for a chilling celebration or just a night ~~scaring the wits out of~~ giving out candy to the neighborhood kids.

Halloween Spider Ball

rusty@somafm.com (Rusty Hodge [SomaFM]) — Mon, 26 Oct 2009 13:04:00 -0700

With the abundance of Halloween parties large and small happening in San Francisco this weekend, but the one that captures the essence of the underground of San Francisco will be Spider Ball, offering a truly unique Halloween experience. Hosted by the Burning Man collective Playa Love and happening at the historic Bentley Reserve across from Embarcedero Center. Two stages and six full bars, with beds for seating and a separate chill room. The festivities begin at 10 pm Halloween night with performances going until the early morning. Headlining the event are ambient electronic music artist Random Rab, diverse world beats from Oakland group Beats Antique, and bass-heavy dance music from VibeSquaD.

Proceeds from the event will go towards the Black Rock Arts Foundation whose mission is to support and promote community-based interactive art.Tickets are available online with general admission for $55 and VIP tickets (drinks included) for $120. (Imagine Castro Halloween bash meets Burningman Decompression and you get the drift of the party.)

Please help support night-time entertainment in San Francisco

rusty@somafm.com (Rusty Hodge [SomaFM]) — Fri, 23 Oct 2009 22:20:00 -0700

San Francisco Police Department Commander of Field Operations of the City of San Francisco James Dudley is trying to put an end to nightlife in San Francisco. He is proposing that bars and nightclubs be closed at midnight.

Dudley is best known for his continuous and relentless crackdown on night life in North Beach, turning the Broadway corridor into a virtual police state. He is responsible for the large presence of police officers, including those with riot helmets. He was responsible for the actual closing of Broadway Street so that taxis were unable to pick up fares when the clubs closed.

Now he wants to expand these tactics city-wide as par of the war on fun.

Members of the San Francisco night life community including clubs, bands and customers, will be rallying their support for the Entertainment Commission on Monday Oct 26th 1PM before the Board of Supervisors.
The Entertainment Commission has come under attack of late by those groups who seek to limit the variety of entertainment venues in this world class city. The night life industry is a significant economic engine driving the San Francisco economy and that industry along with its talent and customers are rallying to show support for the Commission.

The legislation before the Board will empower the Entertainment Commission to enforce its own permits. The industry feels strongly about the Commission that regulates them and intends to demonstrate to the board of supervisors and the police that they too have a voice.

Performing on the steps of City Hall will be the Jazz Mafia, an acoustical jazz group. Performing inside City Hall will be the night life industry and their customers who too are citizens of this great urban metropolis.

For more information: supportentertainment.com

Sonic Oddities Live at Oddball Films

noreply@blogger.com (meghan) — Wed, 21 Oct 2009 11:52:00 -0700

This Friday, October 23, is a chance to experience the wonderful cinematic weirdness that is Oddball Films. Director Stephen Parr will be hosting his Sonic Oddities Live program, exploring the relationship between sight and sound with a combination of film shorts and clips accompanied by live music. The visuals promise to be unique, featuring claymation, bizarre commercials, religious propaganda, surreal animation, and offbeat classic footage experimenting with the "science of sound", among others.

Percussionist Jordan Glenn, woodwind player Cory Wright, and guitarist Andrew Conklin will make up a trio performing improvised tunes along with the scenes on the screen. Sonic Oddities Live will highlight the connection between the visual and the auditory, enhancing perception through a one-of-a-kind event. The program will be held at Oddball Films headquarters at 275 Capp Street in San Francisco. Admission is $10 and you can learn more or make reservations by calling (415)558-8117 or contacting info@oddballfilm.com. Enjoy the show!

Listener of the Month: October!

noreply@blogger.com (meghan) — Tue, 20 Oct 2009 10:55:00 -0700

Our listener of the month is Jean Michel. You might recognize him from that video clip of a Russian talk show we posted earlier, where he speaks about SomaFM.

For our non-Russian-speaking listeners, the video translates as follows:

The host says "Most of our [Russian] top managers, when asked, like to read serious newspapers but Jean-Michel likes to listen to music."

Jean-Michel goes on to say that SomaFM is "sweet" electronic music. He explains that SomaFM has 14 channels and his favorite is Lush because of the female vocals. Thanks for the shout out Jean-Michel!

Starfucker @ Bottom of the Hill

noreply@blogger.com (meghan) — Mon, 05 Oct 2009 16:39:00 -0700

Sometimes in the middle of a hectic week, good live music is a must. Head over to Bottom of the Hill this Wednesday, October 7th, to catch the upbeat tunes of three groups from Portland, Oregon that fuse pop and electronica with an indie sensibility. Starfucker blends catchy beats with melodic harmonies and samples and are frequently played on Indie Pop Rocks and Poptron!

Listen to Meghan's interview with the group. Their touring partners Deelay and Ceelay are a powerful duo that combine percussive pyschedelic pop and synched projected visuals for a full sensory experience. Completing the lineup is Strength, known for their disco-influenced dance beats. The show starts at 9 pm, and tickets are available for $10.

World Space Week

noreply@blogger.com (meghan) — Thu, 01 Oct 2009 14:30:00 -0700

Few people often take time to contemplate the wonders of space. On it’s 10th birthday, World Space Week aims to change that. With synchronized events from Australia to Zambia throughout the week of October 4th, World Space Week rallies schools and universities, the aerospace industry, astronomy clubs and science museums in order to bring space to the forefront of our awareness.

This year’s theme, Space for Education, seeks to motivate students everywhere through exposure to the cosmos. But World Space Week is about more than just students. Highlights such as Cirque du Soleil founder Guy Laliberté's address from space and the opportunity to send a digital message into space can appeal to everyone.

SomaFM loves space, so we're excited to be involved with World Space Week. With special programming on Mission Control all week and coverage of NASA's Lunar CRater Observation and Sensing Satellite (LCROSS) search for water on the moon and "impact event" on October 8th and 9th.

If you’d like to attend, organize or volunteer for a World Space Week event, you can visit them here or contact them here.

Digital Bliss vol 2 Release Party!

noreply@blogger.com (meghan) — Wed, 30 Sep 2009 13:33:00 -0700

The lovely ladies of Digital Bliss, vol. 2 (one of SomaFM's favorite new compilations!) are celebrating their record release this Friday at 111 Minna in San Francisco. The album - which features exclusively female electronic artists - is being hailed as the Downtempo release of the year.

Weather Pending, Celeste Lear, Divasonic and Return to Mono - all musicians featured on Digital Bliss - will be playing sets. Show starts at 9. 21+. $10.

For LA listeners, Digital Bliss will also be hosting a record release at Zanzibar in Santa Monica. Performers are Auradrone, Divasonic and Celeste Lear.

A portion of the proceeds of Digital Bliss volumes 1 and 2 is donated to NextAid, an LA-based non-profit aiming to help African children.

An Evening of Chillout Music in San Francisco

rusty@somafm.com (Rusty Hodge [SomaFM]) — Tue, 29 Sep 2009 10:46:00 -0700

Our friends from local ambient DJ crew Ambisonic, along with AL Kal present an evening dedicated to
chillout music, at Shine (Mission between 9th and 10th, San Francisco), Wednesday, September 30th, from 9PM until 2am. Featuring Ambisonic DJs DF Tram, Traffic and a Live PA by Al Kal and Nonagon.

There aren’t that many venues for chill music in San Francisco, so we want to give a big thanks to Shine for letting Ambisonic take over the space for the evening.
There will be a combination of DJ and Live PA sets. Ambisonic is trying to make this a regular monthly happening so if you live in the San Francisco area we encourage you to come out for this. ($3 before 10; $5 after).

Hardly Strictly Bluegrass Festival

noreply@blogger.com (meghan) — Mon, 28 Sep 2009 15:59:00 -0700

If you're a fan of the Americana and alt-country music found on our channel Boot Liquor, you should definitely head over to Speedway Meadow in Golden Gate Park this weekend for the FREE Hardly Strictly Bluegrass festival. The concert will be held this Friday-Sunday (October 2, 3, & 4) and will span six different stages across the park.

[Dave Alvin & the Guilty Women]

Boot Liquor listeners will recognize acts like Dave Alvin & The Guilty Women (who also played at last years HSB), vocalist Neko Case, and influential songwriter John Prine, among others. Big names in bluegrass such as Lyle Lovett & His Large Band, Steve Earle & The Bluegrass Dukes, Gillian Welch, Emmylou Harris, and famed New Orleans songwriter and producer Allen Toussaint will also grace the stages and surely draw the crowds.

Hope to see you there!

Trying to get some work done?

noreply@blogger.com (meghan) — Fri, 25 Sep 2009 13:30:00 -0700

While we have heard from many listeners that the beats found on our stations provide them with an aurally pleasant atmosphere while working, SomaFM has been named among the "best sounds for getting work done" by Lifehacker.

Citing studies that have shown that minimally engaging music increases productivity, author Kevin Purdy notes that while classical music such as Mozart have long been touted as enhancing the brain, ambient music has often been chosen for the same purpose. Several of our channels— Groove Salad, Secret Agent, and Drone Zone— are named as favorites to achieve this state of musical stimulation while performing tedious tasks. We want to thank Lifehacker for bringing attention to one of the many ways our station can bring enjoyment to listeners anywhere.

Gearing up for Iceland Airwaves

noreply@blogger.com (meghan) — Thu, 24 Sep 2009 13:27:00 -0700

Iceland Airwaves is a yearly music festival based in Reykjavík, Iceland. Airwaves' line up is a veritable smorgasbord of artists from far and wide. Genres from garage punk to re-imagined Motown pop are represented. And it all takes place in the beautiful back-drop that is Reykjavík, a city small enough to hit up four venues in one night before heading to the after party.

For years, SomaFM has been sending staff out to Iceland Airwaves to report back about the happenings and get the lowdown on up and coming bands. Sadly, due to budgetary restrictions, we won't be attending the festival this year. But that doesn't mean you can't reap the benefits of our hard work!

We've put together a collection of articles about our time at the festival in 2007 and 2008. Wondering where to grab a bite or a drink once you're in the area? Check out our guide to eating and drinking on the cheap in Reykjavík.

If you'd just like to get a better feel for what the festival is all about, check out Rusty's observations here, here, here or even here.

Are you going to Iceland Airwaves? Tell us about it! Email us at dj [at] somafm [dot] com and tell us who you're planning to see and which set you're most looking forward to.

The SomaFM Music Library

noreply@blogger.com (meghan) — Sun, 20 Sep 2009 10:00:00 -0700

As SomaFM’s first intern in January of 2008, Meghan Logue began the overwhelming task of organizing SomaFM's immense CD collection into a cohesive library of music. Assembling and sorting the approximately 7,000 titles of diverse music genres became an interesting, albeit challenging, endeavor. It was finally completed a year and a half later, and now stands as a structured assortment of music, cataloguing the growth of various genres. Initially built on station founder Rusty Hodge’s CD collection started in the mid ‘80s, the collection formed the musical basis for the launch of SomaFM in 1999.

Our music library is now an impressive store of sounds that provides the diverse selection of tracks played on SomaFM, on favorite channels such as Groove Salad, Secret Agent, Drone Zone, and more. With everything from ambient to classic rock to worldbeat to jazz among many others from independent and major labels, there is plenty to choose from when looking to the CD library to program a particular channel’s playlist. The library also includes a large number of now extremely-rare, out-of-print electronica CDs from the 90s.

Organized alphabetically and then separated into single musicians/bands and then compilations, it has become much simpler to look for a particular artist, song, or type of music. Although the library is vast in terms of musical style, the common thread is the unique qualities of each CD featured. Scanning the shelves is a veritable demonstration of the diversity of music that is part of the SomaFM experience. The collection includes such mainstream staples as the groundbreaking album Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band from The Beatles, the legendary Miles Davis recording Some Kind of Blue, and many titles from seminal English electronic duo Everything But the Girl, to name a few. The visceral rock of Led Zeppelin sits close to the dance punk project LCD Soundsystem, while the classic crooner Henry Mancini lives a few shelves below.

Different discs evoke different musical spaces in time, with Blondie from the ‘80s, Ice Cube emerging in the early ‘90s, and recent ambience from Icelandic band Sigur Ros. Different areas of the world are represented with electronic artist and producer Coppe from Japan, Algerian dj Cheb I Sabbah, and vintage tunes from French musician Serge Gainsbourg, for example. The many compilation sets also encompass a wide range of musical madness, including Dr. Demento’s collection of novelty songs, sets showcasing a particular genre such as United States of Ambience, hits separated by decade, and world music samplers from different regions like Desert Grooves. The vast array of Christmas music speaks much to the popularity of SomaFM’s holiday stations, with a Raffi Christmas album alongside Christmas Rap and Christmas with the Rat Pack.

One of the best things about the newly ordered musical landscape of the CD library is the accessibility. Being able to easily handpick from this broad spectrum of music is beneficial to SomaFM and its listeners. People tune into the station because virtually any musical thirst can be satisfied while perusing through the various channels, from Boot Liquor to Cliqhop. The variety of genres displayed by the CD library is a symbol of the diversity being played on SomaFM everyday. This range of sounds contributes to exciting radio that plays listeners’ favorites as well as introduces them to new artists. The CD library contributes to SomaFM never compromising its intention to play what is outside of expected radio programming.

San Francisco Electronic Music Festival

noreply@blogger.com (meghan) — Fri, 18 Sep 2009 13:10:00 -0700

The annual San Francisco Electronic Music Festival (SFEMF) provides an opportunity for the pioneers of these soundscapes to share their work with other Bay Area electronic artists, to engage in discussion of new technologies, to collaborate in creating new music, and for fans to come and witness the beats unfolding. SMEMF is being held this year at the Brava Theater from September 16th- 19th. Attendees will get to experience a vast array of musical styles and techniques, from contemporary classical to free improvisation to glitch. The equipment used will range from classic synthesizers to inventive displays of acoustic and electronic instruments sharing the stage.

Performers for the evening include long-time festival performers Miya Masaoka, Pamela Z, Donald Swearingen - and musicians new to the event - Lukas Ligeti, Maria Chavez.

For more information or to purchase tickets visit the SFEMF website.

Septembers Listener of the Month

noreply@blogger.com (meghan) — Thu, 10 Sep 2009 14:50:00 -0700

Don got in touch with us recently to extoll the virtues of our freshly launched station, Mission Control. While we got a lot of nice compliments about that launch, Don's stood out because of his career: he works in astronomy and planetary exploration!

Don has been a fan of Secret Agent for several years. He is currently working from the 200" Hale telescope on Palomar Mountain and Mission Control is providing the background music. Thanks for your support, Don!

Emiliana Torrini's Euro Tour

noreply@blogger.com (meghan) — Fri, 21 Aug 2009 17:40:00 -0700

For fans of Lush: Check out Lush favorite, Emiliana Torrini, on her upcoming European tour.

SomaFM got the lucky chance to see her at the San Francisco venue, Great American Music Hall, and were thoroughly impressed. While many of Emiliana's tracks have a very structured, pop sensibility, her live set is markedly less rigid.

Part of this is due to the bluesy nature of her accompanying band but it's also due in part to her adorable stage banter. One would never expect a writer of sweet, sublime love songs like Emiliana's to make Spinal Tap references, but she does.

Of course, the woman isn't all giggles and chuckles. Her raw vocals and insistent side-to-side head shaking lend a heart wrenching vulnerability rare to an artist as seasoned as she.

Check Emiliana's website for tour dates. She is a must-see!

Listener of the Month: August

noreply@blogger.com (meghan) — Fri, 07 Aug 2009 10:13:00 -0700

Congratulations to Miro, our Listener of the Month in August!

Miro is 19 years old, living in Finland and has just finished his photography degree. He's been listening to SomaFM since the tender young age of 12. Miro practically grew up with Drone Zone and according to his friend Harri, isn't shy about spreading the word.

"When he told me about Drone Zone the first time, I was skeptic... but he kept telling us it's the best channel to listen to while sleeping, while eating, while ... living" - Harri

Cheers Miro!

Listener Mail!

noreply@blogger.com (meghan) — Wed, 29 Jul 2009 16:21:00 -0700

One of the perks of my job is getting to answer mail. We get all kinds of cool CDs and notes from our listeners. Sometimes they even send us money!

This listener (who prefers to remain unnamed) has sent us an array of nifty decorated envelopes. They always brighten my day.

Thanks for your continuing support and mail art!

Friday Fun Day!

noreply@blogger.com (meghan) — Tue, 28 Jul 2009 14:42:00 -0700

Our buddies (and neighbors!) at The Bay Bridged are hosting an incredible sampler of Bay Area tunes, art and food this Friday.

The line-up includes Indie Pop Rocks! favorites French Miami and Adam Stephens of Two Gallants fame. John Vanderslice and Josh from Maus Haus will also be spinning in between acts.

The night will be a veritable smorgasbord of all things SF. And the proceeds go to the Bay Bridged who in turn support local musicians and Bay Area culture. Money well spent!

Doors open at 7:30. Happy hour/art show prior to band sets. 21+. Tickets are $15-$30.

Cool Shows Tonight/Saturday!

noreply@blogger.com (meghan) — Thu, 23 Jul 2009 13:35:00 -0700

You know that SomaFM loves nothing better than a good music festival. Thankfully, our HQ is located in an urban location with an awesome music scene. Mission Creek Music Festival is filling the fun-music bill this weekend with a pair of awesome shows.

If you're a fan of Indie Pop Rocks! or just a fan of great local tunes, check out these shows:

Tonight at Cafe du Nord!

Geographer

The Old-Fashioned Way

White Cloud

100 Swans

Saturday at Bottom of the Hill

Maus Haus (really cool band we interviewed at Noise Pop 09!)

Rainbow Arabia

Pierre le Robot

DJ Gatsby

Listener Focus: Martin

rusty@somafm.com (Rusty Hodge [SomaFM]) — Sat, 18 Jul 2009 14:28:00 -0700

SomaFM listener and supporter Martin found himself in trouble last week. He contracted a serious viral infection and had to go to the emergency room, where they did a bunch of tests and told him he had nothing seriously wrong with him and gave him some pain medication and told him to go home and let the sickness run its course. But since he doesn't have health insurance, he ended up with a $13,000 bill for this single visit.

Read about his hospital experience (which has some really interesting observations about how hospitals and insurance work) and learn how you can help Martin

Mission Control

noreply@blogger.com (meghan) — Fri, 17 Jul 2009 13:38:00 -0700

We've launched another channel! It's called "Mission Control" and it features spacey electronic ambient alongside live NASA mission audio.

Tuns in to Mission Control right now. Also available on your iPhone and Palm Pre.

Listener of the Month: June

noreply@blogger.com (meghan) — Wed, 01 Jul 2009 15:09:00 -0700

Jesse - an electrical engineer based in Oakland, CA - is Junes listener of the month! His favorite channels are Groove Salad and Space Station Soma. Jesse's girlfriend, Laura, prefers Indie Pop Rocks!

Jesse tunes in first thing when he gets to work and tunes out last thing before he leaves. Jesse and Laura often run into other SomaFM fans on the street and take a minute to "geek out about the goodness of Soma."

Congrats Jesse and thanks for your support!

4th of July at El Rio

noreply@blogger.com (meghan) — Tue, 30 Jun 2009 10:30:00 -0700

No plans on the 4th of July? Hit up this local music showcase at El Rio. Cool bands+cool people+free BBQ provided by Sneaky's=good times on the 4th of July.

Writer

Details:

1:30 pm-8:30 pm

+21

$8 (that's $1 per band AND you get free BBQ)

Starfucker @ Bottom of the Hill Tonight!!

noreply@blogger.com (meghan) — Tue, 23 Jun 2009 16:19:00 -0700

Portland based indie-electro-fun time band Starfucker will be at Bottom of the Hill tonight. We'll be interviewing them before the show so keep an eye out for the podcast in the articles section.

Is there band you'd like to see us interview? A festival we should cover? Let us know! Contact us at dj@somafm.com with your suggestions.

Back in San Francisco

Mon, 30 Mar 2009 20:00:00 -0700

We arrived back in San Francisco, will post more in the next few days after sorting through the 40 gigs of photos and videos we shot.

One thing we learned was sadly internet radio in the car isn’t ready for prime time in many parts of the country- there just isn’t reliable mobile internet service in many locations still.

However, on the big interstates, we did have nearly continuous coverage, which was pretty cool. But the smaller Interstate highways, like many parts of I40, didn’t have continuous coverage and hence weren’t too useful for internet radio.

Zion National Park

Fri, 27 Mar 2009 09:00:00 -0700

We went to Zion National Park yesterday, and spent the night there. Playing Drone Zone and watched the sun set over the rocks. Today, we’re going to hike a few miles around to see the “must see” sights and take a bunch of pictures. Then hit the road again.

Very little internet connectivity in Zion; took an hour just to download email in the lobby of the Zion lodge; iPhone has no service at all, so we couldn’t listen to SomaFM live and had to use a pre-recorded set from the iPod.

Lake Powell

Thu, 26 Mar 2009 13:33:37 -0700

Lake Powell

Monument Valley and Page, Arizona

Thu, 26 Mar 2009 11:20:36 -0700

Last night we arrived in Page, AZ, on the shores of Lake Powell. We arrived here for sunset Wednesday night after driving much of the day from Farmington.

We made several stops: Four Corners and a detour through the dirt road that goes through the bottom of Monument Valley Navajo Tribal Park, which straddles Utah and Arizona. It’s pretty awe inspiring to be underneath these thousand foot high sandstone buttes.

Love the local FM station here in Page: free “classifieds” they read over the air every hour. You can either call them or “drop by the station” if you have something you want them to broadcast. That station is truly what a local radio station should be.

Next big stop: Zion National Park.

Four Corners of the US. Where Arizona, Utah, New Mexico and...

Wed, 25 Mar 2009 12:26:54 -0700

Four Corners of the US. Where Arizona, Utah, New Mexico and Colorado meet.

Farmington, NM

Tue, 24 Mar 2009 22:05:00 -0700

There is something cool about seeing towns you never even knew existed. Last night we ended up in a place called Farmington, New Mexico which is the first of the “middle of nowhere” places we’ve been to that is thriving, even with the somewhat recent addition of 2 Walmarts on either end of tiwn!

This is a small low-rise city full of wacky (and/or unique) small businesses (e.g. an optical place had two 20-foot tall palm trees made of christmas lights as decorations out front) as well as a moderate number of chain stores (Home Depot, Safeway, Lowes) all existing in harmony, and all seeming to flourish.

Apparently this is a big center for “the oil and gas industry” as the man at the motel told us, incredulous at our ignorance. That also explains all the people asking where the Chevron meeting was taking place.

We had dinner at Three Rivers Brewing Company downtown. 10+ microbrews, great food. And they also own a Pizza place next door. Maybe we’ll go there for breakfast tomorrow?

On the way to Farmington, NM.

Tue, 24 Mar 2009 17:06:00 -0700

On the way to Farmington, NM.

After leaving Santa Fe, we went north on some small roads to...

Tue, 24 Mar 2009 14:00:00 -0700

After leaving Santa Fe, we went north on some small roads to Abiquiu, where the artist Georgia O’Keefe lived for a while. It was a super small town. Barely a town, but in a nice setting - the mountains were nice and colorful. We found her house after some sleuthing by Merin (“near the cemetery”) but of course it was all chained off and guided tours only so we couldn’t go in.

From there we went 15 miles north to where she lived for longer at a place called Ghost Ranch. There the scenery was AMAZING. You can’t tell from this photo but it was great. It was really isolated, surrounded on all sides by hills / mesas / land masses.

"Back on historic Route 66, spending the night in Santa Fe, NM."

Mon, 23 Mar 2009 21:04:04 -0700

“Back on historic Route 66, spending the night in Santa Fe, NM.”

Sudan, Texas. Some ruined houses around, including this one with...

Mon, 23 Mar 2009 15:00:00 -0700

Sudan, Texas. Some ruined houses around, including this one with a pink room that gives us the creeps for some reason.

Successfully made it out of Texas with only one brush with state...

Mon, 23 Mar 2009 11:50:42 -0700

Successfully made it out of Texas with only one brush with state troopers resulting in a stern warning.

Highway 84 west about 45 miles out of Lubbock, TX.

Mon, 23 Mar 2009 10:05:03 -0700

Highway 84 west about 45 miles out of Lubbock, TX.

Lubbock, TX

Sun, 22 Mar 2009 21:00:00 -0700

We departed Austin this morning, drove most of the day until we made it to Lubbock, TX. Not much going on here in the birthplace of Buddy Holly. Tomorrow we head to Santa Fe, NM, and after that a detour to Bryce Canyon, Utah.

"One final night of SXSW Music. We depart Austin tomorrow."

Sat, 21 Mar 2009 17:44:31 -0700

“One final night of SXSW Music. We depart Austin tomorrow.”

Saturday Night Picks

Sat, 21 Mar 2009 13:10:23 -0700

Rusty’s picks for this evening at SXSW:

8pm Nosaj Thing at Speakeasy (Congress between 4th and 5th)

9pm Machinedrum at Speakeasy

9:30pm Dieselboy at La Zona Rosa (Big venue, probably packed, 4th and Rio Grande)

10pm Felix Cartal at Radio Room Patio (on Sixth)

10pm Yelle at Emo’s Main Room (sneak in through Emo’s Jr if the line is long)

11pm Longview at Cedar Street Courtyard (with Ulrich Schnauss on Keyboards) (208 W 4th St near Colorado)

11:20pm The Crystal Method at La Zona Rosa

1am MSTRKRFT at Radio Room Patio

Great panel on music licensing

Sat, 21 Mar 2009 12:31:09 -0700

I’m in the “Is Collective Licensing for P2P File Sharing a Future Source of Income for the Music Industry?” panel at SXSW. It’s a great panel - huge amounts of intelligent debate and opinions - I’m loving it. Sandy Pearlman, a professor at McGill University, is great; Jim Griffin (who runs the Pho list and is a digital media consultant to Warner and other large labels). Rick Carnes from the Songwriters Guild of America has a lot of really valid points he’s making about the rights of creators while also balancing the rights of fans and ‘consumers of music’.

There are also a lot of industry heavyweights in the audience, including John Simson from SoundExchange, Jay Rosenthal from NMPA, and Ken Freundlic, founder of Royalty Logic (a group that is trying to compete with SoundExchange), and more.

I’ll post some audio bits from it later on my Rusty on Radio blog a little later; it’s incredible educational and really drives the point down about how complex digital copyright issues are; and how many diverging issues there are.

The Scene on Sixth Street. The city closes much of Sixth to...

Fri, 20 Mar 2009 16:00:00 -0700

The Scene on Sixth Street. The city closes much of Sixth to traffic, as well as the adjacent blocks of some of the intersecting streets.

Tori Amos preforming Thursday night, March 19th, at the...

Fri, 20 Mar 2009 02:40:00 -0700

Tori Amos preforming Thursday night, March 19th, at the SoundExchange party at La Zona Rosa during SXSW.

Ulrich Schnauss performing at Elysium

Thu, 19 Mar 2009 19:00:00 -0700

Ulrich Schnauss brought out two guitarists for his “Laptop” performance, which really added a great dimension. Since he often uses abstract guitar samples, the live guitarists blended nicely with the music.

Most of crew that put on the Bay Area Takeover even at SXSW09 at...

Thu, 19 Mar 2009 18:30:00 -0700

Most of crew that put on the Bay Area Takeover even at SXSW09 at Beauty Bar in Austin, during SXSW.

Aaron in Brooklyn, NY

nobody@flickr.com (SomaFM) — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 13:19:17 -0800

SomaFM posted a photo:

Richard in Japan

nobody@flickr.com (SomaFM) — Fri, 30 Oct 2009 10:49:33 -0700

SomaFM posted a photo:

Bryan

nobody@flickr.com (SomaFM) — Fri, 30 Oct 2009 10:49:26 -0700

SomaFM posted a photo:

Steve in St. Kitts

nobody@flickr.com (SomaFM) — Fri, 30 Oct 2009 10:43:48 -0700

SomaFM posted a photo:

Wobbleburger demonstrates sticker placement

nobody@flickr.com (SomaFM) — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 13:14:20 -0700

SomaFM posted a photo:

And shows off a crazy cube too!

jhenry in portland, me

nobody@flickr.com (SomaFM) — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 00:02:21 -0700

SomaFM posted a photo:

Marco in Schenkon, Switzerland

nobody@flickr.com (SomaFM) — Tue, 27 Oct 2009 15:45:22 -0700

SomaFM posted a photo:

Well, Marco's stuff, not Marco himself!

Michael in Älvängen, Sweden

nobody@flickr.com (SomaFM) — Tue, 27 Oct 2009 14:30:30 -0700

SomaFM posted a photo:

Juli at the Annex in Madison WI

nobody@flickr.com (SomaFM) — Wed, 21 Oct 2009 13:26:30 -0700

SomaFM posted a photo:

Paolo in Crete

nobody@flickr.com (SomaFM) — Tue, 20 Oct 2009 14:39:13 -0700

SomaFM posted a photo:

Roy in Switzerland

nobody@flickr.com (SomaFM) — Tue, 20 Oct 2009 02:12:46 -0700

SomaFM posted a photo:

my soma-mobil... i'm a slow driver so hundreds of swiss people can
study my bumper sticker every day....

Spilios in Greece

nobody@flickr.com (SomaFM) — Mon, 19 Oct 2009 10:23:28 -0700

SomaFM posted a photo:

Amy in Austin, TX

nobody@flickr.com (SomaFM) — Mon, 19 Oct 2009 10:14:13 -0700

SomaFM posted a photo:

Matija in the cockpit of a Croation Airlines Airbus 319

nobody@flickr.com (SomaFM) — Wed, 14 Oct 2009 13:38:27 -0700

SomaFM posted a photo:

Mitch in San Francisco

nobody@flickr.com (SomaFM) — Tue, 13 Oct 2009 17:38:53 -0700

SomaFM posted a photo:

Maarten

nobody@flickr.com (SomaFM) — Mon, 12 Oct 2009 14:54:33 -0700

SomaFM posted a photo:

Odon in Mallorca, Spain

nobody@flickr.com (SomaFM) — Mon, 12 Oct 2009 09:58:22 -0700

SomaFM posted a photo:

Scott in the SomaFM studio

nobody@flickr.com (SomaFM) — Mon, 12 Oct 2009 09:53:09 -0700

SomaFM posted a photo:

Photographer Steve Robertson in Keighley, UK

nobody@flickr.com (SomaFM) — Sun, 11 Oct 2009 13:24:24 -0700

SomaFM posted a photo:

Steve listens to SomaFM when he's doing shoots in his studio. Here's
one of his shots.

Mario in Rotterdam, The Netherlands

nobody@flickr.com (SomaFM) — Sun, 11 Oct 2009 11:04:50 -0700

SomaFM posted a photo:

greetings from the lowlands,
Mario

Senate Judiciary passes Performance Rights Ace

rusty@somafm.com (Rusty Hodge [SomaFM]) — Thu, 15 Oct 2009 11:29:00 -0700

Nasdaq wire is reporting The Senate Judiciary Committee on Thursday approved a bill to require radio stations to pay royalties to performers when their music is aired. (Music First representatives have also confirmed this.)

While the bill is still a long way from passing, this is the most important hurdle it needed to clear.

I have mixed feeling about this. While I don't think it's fair that one group (terrestrial radio) gets to use something for free that another group (digital broadcasters) has to pay a large fee to use. (We pay 10-12% of our revenues because we're a "small webcaster", large webcasters like Pandora have to pay 25% of their revenues just to cover the sound recording copyright. (BMI,SESAC,ASCAP royalties for the underlying composition amount to another 4-5%).

The more commercial indie labels I talk to all want a reasonable royalty that's consistent across similar platforms (analog or digital). They value the exposure they get from the radio, but they're also looking for additional streams of revenue. I can understand that.

There are also plenty of netlabels and very indie-artist run labels who aren't to the stage of "maximizing revenues" from their portfolio of works, and are more interested in getting the free publicity that radio offers them. To many labels, the exposure is much more important than the royalty revenue.

My fear is that despite the intentions of MusicFirst, soon after this gets passed, the RIAA labels will band together to raise the rates paid by the over the air guys to match the levels paid by (and that some say is bankrupting) internet broadcasters.

And if that happens it will be the end of terrestrial broadcast music. The only thing on the FM dial will be talk shows, religious and spanish programming. And that will be kind of sad. And ultimately not serving to the music industry.

Hopefully, my fear won't come to pass.

You have to pay them to play their stuff?

rusty@somafm.com (Rusty Hodge [SomaFM]) — Mon, 05 Oct 2009 14:38:00 -0700

SomaFM listener Robert hits the radio royalty thing on the head:

Beginning with iTunes and through that my intro to your excellent station, I was not listening to music at all. For me was impossible to listen too on a lot of levels. So you introduced me to electronica, remix jazz and the like. Well now I am looking at my purchased iTunes library with 1700 + songs. I was thinking; "You have to pay them to play their stuff?", they should be paying you for bringing them customers like me , where else am I or anybody else going to hear this. Personally I like listening to music again, Thank You!

Most of the indie artists we play feel this way, and many of the independent labels feel this way too. For the most part, it's the big labels with lots of back-catalog that don't see the value in radio play.

If the royalties we pay were much lower (in line with what is proposed for terrestrial radio), this wouldn't be a big issue. But considering that SoundExchange is now pushing for higher and higher rates, there isn't much hope of our getting a royalty rate on par with what the terrestrial guys will likely get.

Looks like our ultimate solution will be directly licensing tracks from artists and indie labels, and play less and less music from the big labels. (We already play less than 20% of our music from big labels, so that won't be too hard.)

Snow Leapord support for aacPlus

rusty@somafm.com (Rusty Hodge [SomaFM]) — Tue, 08 Sep 2009 20:20:00 -0700

I just noticed that the Snow Leopard Quicktime player now plays aacPlus over http via a .pls file right out of the box. If you get info while playing an aacPlus stream, it doesn't say anything special to indicate it's aacPlus: just AC, 2 channels, 22050hz. But it really is playing back as a 44.1 stream (remember that aacPlus synthesizes all audio over 10khz).

Strangely, though, RTSP streams in quicktime are NOT playing back in aacPlus! The are played back only as AAC (and hence sound like they're 22khz files rather than 44.1.)

To try it out, open up http://somafm.com/groovesalad48.pls from within Quicktime Player. You don't get Metadata but you do get the stream in full fidelity.

Now try the RTSP version:

rtsp://64.202.98.91:554/gs.sdp

Also, seems that the new Quicktime X doesn't support QTL files anymore. (This breaks all the quicktime links on the SomaFM site, we can change them to .mov files).

PS- Rumor is tomorrow's announcement of iTunes 9 will include aacPlus playback. That would indeed be exciting is that was the case!

Yahoo Launch wins appeal ruling over license fees

rusty@somafm.com (Rusty Hodge [SomaFM]) — Fri, 21 Aug 2009 17:28:00 -0700

Newsday: Online radio service wins ruling over license fees:

"In short, to the degree that LAUNCHcast's playlists are uniquely created for each user, that feature does not ensure predictability,' the appeals court said. 'Indeed, the unique nature of the playlist helps Launch ensure that it does not provide a service so specially created for the user that the user ceases to purchase music."

This bodes well for Pandora as well, rumors were circulating saying that the RIAA was going to go after Pandora claiming it was an interactive service as well.

Interactive services, or "Music on Demand" services, are not covered by the DMCA/CRB compulsory license, and have to be individually negotiated with the copyright owners. The original suit dates back to 2001 and originally was settled in Yahoo Launch's favor.

SoundExchange: Please make your website usable!

rusty@somafm.com (Rusty Hodge [SomaFM]) — Fri, 24 Jul 2009 17:05:00 -0700

Dear SoundExchange;

Could you please redo your website to make it usable? That means, use HTML not Flash. Make it so there are actual URLs to different sections of your site. Make it so my back button works. Make it so I can increase or decrease the font size. Make it so you can actually find what you need on it.

It's a nightmare trying to get the forms we need (not to mention the information we need) off your site.

Thanks

FMQB: Radio Industry News, Music Industry Updates, Arbitron Ratings, Music News and more!

rusty@somafm.com (Rusty Hodge [SomaFM]) — Sat, 20 Jun 2009 14:19:00 -0700

As reported in FMQB: "the musicFIRST Coalition filed a formal request with the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), asking them to investigate and take action against radio stations over reports that some of them are refusing to air music from artists who support the Performance Royalty. "

Specifically, they're targeting WMPH, a high school radio station in Wilmington, DE that mostly plays dance and electronic music. WMPH decided to boycott those artists that were promoting Music First. And this likely didn't affect their playlists at all, as most dance/electronic artists that get airplay on non-commercial radio are not affiliated with the Big 4 labels that are behind MusicFirst.

While I'm not opposed removing terrestrial radio's exemption that allows them to play any publicly-released sound recording without royalties, I also think that royalty should be reasonable. And I also think that stations that make licensing deals with the labels they play- labels that still want the promotional exposure- shouldn't be forced to pay a licensing fee for using recordings they don't use.

John Simpson at SoundExchange has repeatedly encouraged direct licensing in response to the CRB rates, including this quote from 2007: "they always have the outlet of going in direct licensing" (Royalty Week PDF)

So why is MusicFirst (of which SoundExchange is a supporting member and financial backer of) getting so upset when a broadcaster says it won't play material from artists who are proponents of this royalty?

You can't force broadcasters to play your music and then charge them for it.

Perhaps once more broadcasters start following the lead of WMPH, we'll start to hear more innovative music on the airwaves, and not just the same old derivative stuff that the big labels try to foist off on the public all the time.

And then maybe them, the labels will start to acknowledge the promotional value that radio exposure can give.

Some things broke, some things improved

rusty@somafm.com (Rusty Hodge [SomaFM]) — Thu, 18 Jun 2009 13:47:00 -0700

When Apple release the new 3.0 iPhone software yesterday, we found a bug in the SomaFM iPhone App. Here's what happens:

Some channels don't get displayed in the listings, while others are being listed twice. Well, they're not really being listed twice, for some reason the wrong text and graphics is showing up in the wrong position in that list, so it will seem like some channels are listed twice. As a temporary work-around, you can get to missing channel by clicking on one of the duplicate entries.

We're working on fixing the bug now, but we have to wait for the approval process again, so it will likely be a week or longer before the fix is available in the store. Really sorry about that. You can vent your frustrations in our iPhone support area.

In better news, the iPhone 3.0 software brings better features to our WebApp. If you have the 3.0 software installed on your iPhone, you now have access to our aacPlus streams, which sound great over EDGE networks. We have aacPlus support for Groove Salad, Space Station Soma, Secret Agent, Indie Pop Rocks and Illinois Street Lounge right now, we're planning to get a couple more channels up real soon now (most likely Boot Liquor, Lush and Drone Zone).

We've also rolled out streaming on more Nokia platforms, including the 5800, and the new Palm Pre. I'm excited how the mobile platforms are really taking off finally! It's been a long time, but internet radio in your car and wherever you are is finally starting to become common.

Performance Rights Act (HR 848) Approved, on way to passing

rusty@somafm.com (Rusty Hodge [SomaFM]) — Wed, 13 May 2009 13:27:00 -0700

The House Judiciary Committee approved the Performance Rights Act (HR 848) today, with 21 in favor, 9 not in favor.

It includes these rates that apply only to over the air broadcasts:

Any station that makes less than $100,000 annually will pay only $500 annually for unlimited use of music.

Any station that makes less than $500,000 but more than $100,000 annually will pay only $2500 (half of the amount in the original version of the bill) annually for unlimited use of music.

Any station that makes less than $1,250,000 but more than $500,000 annually will pay only $5000 (unchanged since the bill was introduced)) annually for unlimited use of music.

The bill also includes a statement of "Parity for all radio services" which establishes a “placeholder” standard to determine a fair rate for all radio services that will encourage negotiations between the stakeholders

As I've mentioned before compared to AM/FM broadcasters, Webcasters currently get a really bad deal: A webcaster with 1.25 million in revenue would be paying about $140,000 while an over-the-air broadcaster would only pay $5000. A webcaster with $250,000 in revenue would be paying $25,000 a year while an over-the-air station would pay 1/10th that.

SomaFM joined over 300 other broadcasters in signing a letter to Chairman Conyers and Ranking Member Smith [PDF] asking them to amend the Performance Rights Act to extend small broadcaster protections to small webcasters.

On the webcasters side, Rep. Zoe Lofgren of California spoke passionately and convincingly of this need to extend small broadcaster royalty limits to small webcasters. Unfortunately, a specific webcaster inclusion was not put in this version of the bill, so we'll need to do more lobbying of Congress to get it included in the final bill.

In related news, The Webcaster Settlement Act of 2009 was also introduced. The text is basically the same as the WSA 2008, the biggest difference being instead of a specific date for submitting deals for publication (a deadline which has already passed) the new bill gives 30 days from enactment to finalize deals.

Webcasters deserve the same deal as over-the-air Broadcasters

rusty@somafm.com (Rusty Hodge [SomaFM]) — Tue, 12 May 2009 00:51:00 -0700

The terrestrial broadcast performance royalty bill, officially known as "The Performance Rights Act" (H.R. 848) [alternative link], will also be considered by the House Judiciary Committee today. Unlike webcasters, the rate would be $5000 a year for stations with revenues up to 1.25 million dollars. A webcaster with 1.25 million in revenue would be paying about $140,000 a year to play the same music.

Doesn't seem fair does it?

If this indeed passes, and there is a good likelihood it will, then we need to demand that webcasters who broadcast non-interactive radio streams should also get to pay those same rates.

Here's the relevant text from the bill:

SEC. 3. SPECIAL TREATMENT FOR SMALL, NONCOMMERCIAL, EDUCATIONAL, AND RELIGIOUS STATIONS AND CERTAIN USES.

(a) Small, Noncommercial, Educational, and Religious Radio Stations-

(1) IN GENERAL- Section 114(f)(2) of title 17, United States Code, is amended by adding at the end the following:

(D) Notwithstanding the provisions of subparagraphs (A) through (C), each individual terrestrial broadcast station that has gross revenues in any calendar year of less than $1,250,000 may elect to pay for its over-the-air nonsubscription broadcast transmissions a royalty fee of $5,000 per year, in lieu of the amount such station would otherwise be required to pay under this paragraph. Such royalty fee shall not be taken into account in determining royalty rates in a proceeding under chapter 8, or in any other administrative, judicial, or other Federal Government proceeding.

(E) Notwithstanding the provisions of subparagraphs (A) through (C), each individual terrestrial broadcast station that is a public broadcasting entity as defined in section 118(f) may elect to pay for its over-the-air nonsubscription broadcast transmissions a royalty fee of $1,000 per year, in lieu of the amount such station would otherwise be required to pay under this paragraph. Such royalty fee shall not be taken into account in determining royalty rates in a proceeding under chapter 8, or in any other administrative, judicial, or other Federal Government proceeding.'.

Dear RIAA and Big Media companies

rusty@somafm.com (Rusty Hodge [SomaFM]) — Thu, 09 Apr 2009 00:46:00 -0700

Dear RIAA:

Start an ad campaign talking about how the RIAA is advancing the "art" of recorded music. Publish more technical standards for making MP3s and online music sound better. Define a standard for musical metadata and get all your member labels to commit to use it. Push for higher quality; easier access to music. Make your name synonymous with quality improvements to recorded music, rather than someone who sues kids and grandparents for copying a few songs.

In fact, you should spin-off your enforcement division altogether, and disassociate it from your name.

Dear Big Media:

Think about breaking yourselves up: reverse consolidation. You own lots of tiny labels that still have a lot of love and respect from the community. Let them leave the nest, and remove the "big media" stigma that's attached to them.

Bring back your old brands to keep older music alive and viable and make a point of showing how that brand (aka marketing label) is the guardian, the caretaker, of that music.

Just a thought... from someone who (as a child) used to love the big labels, and thought the RIAA was this great organization promoting technical and artistic excellence in records.

SXSW Road Trip

rusty@somafm.com (Rusty Hodge [SomaFM]) — Mon, 09 Mar 2009 22:31:00 -0700

Merin and I decided to drive from San Francisco to Austin for SXSW. We're bogging about being on the road to SXSW and what we discover along the way.

We're also road testing internet radio (SomaFM on the iPhone especially) and finding that unfortunately there are too many places on the interstate in the southwest that it still doesn't work reliably.

In addition to the blog, we're posting some updates on SomaFM's twitter (be sure to follow @somafm!)

Rusty speaking at SXSW on DMCA issues

rusty@somafm.com (Rusty Hodge [SomaFM]) — Sun, 01 Mar 2009 11:29:00 -0800

I'm speaking at SXSWi on "Rewriting the DMCA: How to Improve Section 114":

``This panel will discuss the ugly bits of the Section 114 compulsory license for digital/internet music usage, and what parts are in it for historic reasons that don't apply in todays world; as well as changes that both users of the licenses (webcasters) and content providers (artists, labels) would agree to.``

Tuesday, March 17th; 11:30 am - 12:30 pm Room Hilton E

Billboard: No Deal Reached For DIMA, SoundExchange

rusty@somafm.com (Rusty Hodge [SomaFM]) — Wed, 18 Feb 2009 10:47:00 -0800

Billboard is reporting No Deal Reached For DIMA, SoundExchange:

The fact that the two parties did not reach a settlement comes as somewhat of a surprise. In the weeks leading up to the deadline, representatives from both parties expressed confidence a deal was imminent. However that changed early in the week, prior to the deadline, when talks fell apart during a conference call with all involved, according to sources. Exactly what issue sparked the fallout is unclear.

Doesn't this always happen at the last minute with SoundExchange negotiations with the internet broadcasters, both small and large?

"Pandora has threatened to shut down completely if it was forced to pay the full royalty rates, which raised the fees due to SoundExchange and other rights holders in some cases by 300%. RealNetworks previously said it would consider severely limiting the streaming radio options currently available to subscribers."

While I still don't think Pandora will completely shut down, they'll have to drastically change their service to a paid subscription service or one with audio ads every 2-3 songs.

Other deals on the horizon?

rusty@somafm.com (Rusty Hodge [SomaFM]) — Mon, 16 Feb 2009 16:49:00 -0800

While the NAB has a deal in place, others, including small commercial webcasters, religions and non-commercials, Pandora and possibly Real Networks (Rhapsody) also failed to come to a deal in time by the deadline of Feb 15th. DiMA, part of the Save Net Radio coalition and the organization representing clients like AOL, Yahoo and other large webcasters, has not announced a deal either.

There was some talk that because the 15th was a Sunday and the 16th was a holiday, that the real deadline is the 17th so there might still be a deal made.

NAB and SoundExchange make deal.

rusty@somafm.com (Rusty Hodge [SomaFM]) — Mon, 16 Feb 2009 14:42:00 -0800

Radio Ink and other journals are reporting that NAB and SoundExchange have made a deal:

"The new agreement keeps the per-performance rate structure but reduces the rates set by the Copyright Royalty Board for 2009 and 2010 by about 16 percent and establishes rates for 2011-2015. This year's rate is $0.0015 per streamed recording, moving up to $0.0025 in 2015. The CRB rates were $0.0018 for 2009 and $0.0019 for 2010."

For a station that plays music 24/7, and assuming 10 songs per hour, this equates to about $11 (in 2009) scaling to $18 (in 2015) per concurrent listener per month (or AQH persons) for their internet broadcasts... or in listener hours, 1.5 cents (2009) to 2.5 cents (2015) per listener hour per month for internet streams.

For a station doing 150,000 hours a month (205 average concurrent listeners per month) that would be around $2250 a month in SoundExchange royalties. 150,000 hours a month is typical of a lot of larger-market FM simulcast netcasts, to that's a typical number.

But we have way more listeners on net than that, and do more like 3 million listener hours (counting only US listeners). So SomaFM would be paying over $45,000 a MONTH at these rates. (Actually more, because without commercials, we play more songs per hour than an AM/FM station does.)

The only way this makes sense for broadcasters is if they're predominately talk or they're getting waivers in exchange for airplay of tracks.

SoundExchange to small webcasters: here's your one offer. Take it or lose it.

rusty@somafm.com (Rusty Hodge [SomaFM]) — Thu, 12 Feb 2009 20:59:00 -0800

SoundExchange continues to try and strangle small webcasters like SomaFM, RadioIO, DI.FM, RadioParadise and others. They've offered us a not very good agreement... that among other things says we can't publicly complain about or discuss the agreement, and we can't talk to Congress about anything related to internet radio royalties or copyright law, and we can't participate in the CRB process for the 2011-2015 period.

They have us between a rock and a hard place. The deadline is Sunday, but for all practical purposes, the deadline is Friday, tomorrow.

Pretty soon I may not be able to post any of this in our blog, because we're going to get forced into an agreement that will limit our audience (and hence growth) and create a serious financial drag on us and other webcasters who aren't big enough to enter into direct licenses with the parties that own the copyrights to the music they play.

Muzak Files Chapter 11 to Refinance Debt - NYTimes.com

rusty@somafm.com (Rusty Hodge [SomaFM]) — Wed, 11 Feb 2009 11:59:00 -0800

Muzak Files Chapter 11 to Refinance Debt - NYTimes.com:

"Many of Muzak’s biggest creditors are music companies that license songs for use on Muzak playlists. While the company is known as the creator of elevator music, its business is now more focused on creating playlists for use in retail stores, installing professional sound systems and providing other services."

So even industry giant Muzak is being crushed by the high cost of licensing music.

Sirius XM Prepares Bankruptcy Filing

rusty@somafm.com (Rusty Hodge [SomaFM]) — Tue, 10 Feb 2009 14:29:00 -0800

Sirius XM Prepares Bankruptcy Filing - NYTimes.com: "Sirius XM Satellite Radio has been working with advisers to prepare for a possible bankruptcy filing in a move that could put pressure on the satellite company EchoStar, which owns a substantial amount of the company’s debt."

I'm sure the service will continue one way or another. The question I have is will they split off the programming side from the transport/distribution side. Much of the heavy debt was brought about by the technology side of the company, not the programming side. (Not to say that they didn't pay a fortune to get some of the programming they carry; they did... but maybe a spun-off programming division can make some more money syndicating that programming other ways- like they're doing with net radio now, and might even do with terrestrial stations.)

I'm also curious how bankruptcy will affect their royalty payments to SoundExchange.

Does the New Administration change anything for radio royalties?

rusty@somafm.com (Rusty Hodge [SomaFM]) — Mon, 09 Feb 2009 13:48:00 -0800

It seems that the RIAA, Recording Academy and MusicFirst think the new administration will be more on their side than the old administration:

Neil Portnow, CEO of the Recording Academy said last night at the Grammys:

“When it comes to protecting a musician's intellectual property and the right to earn a living, The Academy says, "Yes, we can!" And with a new Congress, we will champion the passage of pending legislation to ensure, that just like in every developed country in the world, all music creators are compensated for their performances when played on traditional radio.”

Historical datapoint: he DMCA was passed under the Clinton administration, and the DMCA is what has placed huge royalties on internet radio. The Performance Rights Act of 2009 will add those same royalties on over-the-air broadcasters that internet broadcasters now pay. While on one hand, I think it's great that there is equality for over-the-air (often referred to as terrestrial) broadcasters, but I'm concerned that rather than one fair, small royalty placed on everyone will actually end up being one really large royalty levied on all broadcasters, terrestrial and internet.

SoundExchange Offers Settlement To Webcasters

rusty@somafm.com (Rusty Hodge [SomaFM]) — Mon, 09 Feb 2009 11:54:00 -0800

Billboard is reporting that SoundExchange has made a new settlement offer to webcasters: but it's not the results of negotiation, it's a unilateral offer, and it's ultimately won't work for webcasters like SomaFM.

I'm quoted in the Billboard article saying:

"'We're disappointed with the offer,' says Rusty Hodge, founder of SomaFM. 'It effectively is worse that the previous [one]. Basically SoundExchange has done nothing to comprise with webcasters at all.'"

This hasn't been a negotiation. This has been a series of offers that gets worse each time. The original SWSA passed in 2002 was better than the current offer. The offer made about 18 months ago was the same as the current offer except that there were less strings attached; and because at that point, the offer only applied to SoundExchange member artists.

The current offer is just the same old offer with more restrictions and limitations. There has been no compromise. Every counter-offer webcasters make is met with a less-desirable offer from SoundExchange.

The really big issue for SomaFM is the traffic limits of 5 million monthly aggregate tuning hours. While that number sounds big, in January, we did did about 6.2 million. 5 million monthly tuning hours equates to 6720 average concurrent listeners. And the SoundExchange offer technically applies to US-only listener hours, which is about 50-55% of our listeners, so we're still technically under the limit. But this means that as we grow in the future we're going to hit that cap, and we'll be forced to limit the number of listeners we have.

The big RIAA labels are threatened by independent internet broadcasters and want to make sure that we're constrained to a niche market.

We're very disappointed with this so-called "offer".

The RIAA is still out to kill off independent webcasters like SomaFM.

Conyers, Issa Re-introduce Bipartisan Performance Rights Legislation

rusty@somafm.com (Rusty Hodge [SomaFM]) — Wed, 04 Feb 2009 18:21:00 -0800

This bill as it stands probably doesn't do much for webcasters, other than propose to take away the exemption for terrestrial broadcasters. I'm disappointed that it doesn't say that all forms of broadcasting will pay the same price, be it terrestrial or digital. Media Week has more on the story, including the response from the NAB, including this quote from NAB's letter to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi:

Three of the four largest record label conglomerates -- Universal Music Group, Sony Music Entertainment and EMI -- are internationally-based" and "although the big record labels have seen their revenues decline over the last decade, local radio broadcasters are not the reason the recording industry is losing money, and it should not be the industry to fix it.

Here's the text of the press release:

WASHINGTON. D.C. – Today, House Judiciary Committee Chairman John Conyers, Jr. (D-MI), and Darrell Issa (R-CA), introduced The Performance Rights Act, a bipartisan measure that takes a first step at ensuring that all radio platforms are treated in a similar manner and that those who perform music are paid for their work.

The legislation would amend an inequity in America's copyright law that exempts over-the-air broadcasters from paying those who perform the music that we listen to on AM and FM radio. Webcasters, satellite radio providers and cable companies are presently required to pay for music they broadcast.

"Beyond the fairness that this bill provides for performers, we have an opportunity to show the rest of the world that the United States practices what it preaches in protecting intellectual property," said Issa. "For the past 70 years Congress has ignored the constitutional mandate that we protect copyrights by completely exempting broadcasters from paying performers, while the vast majority of countries have no such exemption. Our ignorance of intellectual property rights on this issue is a worldwide embarrassment and it must end now."

"All those in the creative chain of musical production - the artists, musicians, and others who enrich us culturally - deserve to be justly compensated for their work," said Conyers. "We have introduced the Performance Rights Act to ensure fairness so that any service that plays music pays those who create and own the recordings - just as satellite, cable and internet radio stations currently do. Working with the Senate, I hope that Congress may act quickly to pass this important legislation to level the playing field between different technologies and ensure rightful compensation to performers."

The Performance Rights Act is cosponsored by Reps. Issa, Berman, Waxman, Blackburn, Hodes, Wasserman Schultz, Weiner, Cohen, Nadler, Wexler, Peterson (MN), Johnson (GA), Schiff, Sherman, Shadegg, Jackson Lee, L. Sanchez, and Harman. Companion legislation was introduced Wednesday in the Senate by Judiciary Committee Chairman Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) and former Chairman Senator Orrin Hatch (R-Utah).

"In introducing the Performance Rights Act, we are sensitive to the needs of broadcast radio stations," said Senator Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.), Chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee. "I want to ensure that the performing artist, the one whose sound recordings drive the success of broadcast radio, is compensated fairly. Our legislation, appropriately, permits noncommercial stations to take advantage of the statutory copyright license subject only to a nominal annual payment to the artists. Similarly, we intend to nurture, not threaten, small commercial broadcasters. Smaller music stations are working hard to serve their local communities while finding the right formula to increase their audience size. I will continue to work with the broadcasters – large and small, commercial and noncommercial – to strike the right balance."

"This legislation would ensure that musical performers and songwriters receive fair compensation from all companies across the broadcast spectrum - not just from Web casters, satellite radio providers and cable companies," said Senator Orrin Hatch (R-Utah), former Chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee. "It is an attempt to strike a harmonious balance between fair compensation for artists and a vibrant radio industry in the U.S."

SoundExchange, Public Radio make deal

rusty@somafm.com (Rusty Hodge [SomaFM]) — Fri, 16 Jan 2009 11:38:00 -0800

FMQB is reporting that SoundExchange and Public Radio has made a deal on royalties:

The agreement will cover approximately 450 public radio webcasters, including CPB supported stations, NPR, NPR members, National Federation of Community Broadcasters members, American Public Media, Public Radio Exchange and Public Radio International.

They go on to say:

Under the new deal, SoundExchange is to receive a single up-front royalty payment of $1.85 million together with consolidated usage and playlist reporting from CPB on behalf of the entire public radio system.

David Oxenford in his Broadcast Law Blog has this additional info:

In some reports, the deal is described as being based on 'consumption' of music, and implies that, if music use by covered stations increases, then the royalties will increase. It is not clear if this increase means that there will be an adjustment to the one time payment made by CPB, or if the increase will simply lead to adjustments in future royalty periods.

Read "SoundExchange and CPB Reach a Settlement on Webcasting Royalties - More Deals to Come?" by David Oxenford

I got an HD radio for Christmas

rusty@somafm.com (Rusty Hodge [SomaFM]) — Sun, 28 Dec 2008 15:06:00 -0800

I got an HD radio for Xmas... the Sony XDR-F1HD. Here are some observations based on some substantial time spent using the radio and listening to HD radio:

Not used to a radio taking 5-7 seconds to "boot" when you turn it on.
HD2/HD3 channels take 5+ seconds to "Link" whenever you change channels. Doesn't really encourage channel surfing.
The radio runs very hot; I've heard those Ibiquity chips suck power and that's why you're not seeing a walkman HD radio yet. (And that's also why you'll probably never see HD radio in a cell phone.)
In Bernal Heights (where I live), I can only pick up 15 HD2 channels.
Public radio, such as KQED, KCSM, KALW all have no HD2
I'm not really impressed with any of the current HD2 formats here in San Francisco. There is a lot of hiphop, but don't you think most of the audience for that's going to just be downloading MP3 "mixtapes" to their iPods?
I'm not impressed with the HD2 audio quality; and when more stations add a HD3 that means the main channel will sound the same as the HD2/3 channels - 32kb streams. They sound good for 32kb but there are some strange artifacts that crop up from time to time.

Bottom line: the user experience for me is the worse issue, largely the time it takes to switch channels. The whole tuning scheme is pretty wacky too, you can't just tune across the HD2 channels directly.

If you're only listening to the main channel programs, it's probably a good feature. And for stations like KQED which have terrible coverage (dropouts and multipath) in most of SF, I suspect it's a good solution in the car. But for home use, what's the point. Cable and Satellite TV both have a broader choice of music channels that come with most programming packages.

Not to mention that if you're at home, you have far more choices from Internet Radio!

Listener email: Why do we expand our channels?

rusty@somafm.com (Rusty Hodge [SomaFM]) — Sat, 13 Dec 2008 16:23:00 -0800

An anonymous listener from Germany writes:

i really enjoy the music you play at your station. Drone Zone, Groove Salad, Space Station, Cliphop and Doomed is the best mix for people FAR AWAY FROM MAINSTREAM. i think that was your original idea to launch this project, and i think many people will thank you for that great idea. BUT if you're not able to meet your budget why do you expand your channels? Is "getting bigger and bigger" the goal of a "underground station"? Does any one of the listeners from the beginning need christmas music? Please think about it and go back to the roots.

First, to set the record straight, Xmas in Frisko has been around longer than Doomed or Space Station Soma. I think it's unlike any other holiday broadcast out there, and very fitting for SomaFM. Christmas Lounge was an offshoot of holiday programming we did on Groove Salad - many people asked that we not play any holiday music on Groove Salad and instead start a dedicated channel for it, so we did.

Our mission has been to provide music programming that's "outside the mainstream"; music that you won't hear on FM radio. That doesn't mean every song we play hast to be unknown, it just means we're trying to play songs that you are far less likely to hear anywhere else. So yes, there are a few Christmas songs on Christmas Lounge that are by artists many people have heard of... but they're the songs that fit the theme, and they're less than 10% of what's played on that channel.

While it is true that SomaFM is slowly expanding, we're not expanding nearly as fast as the total online audience for internet radio is. Below a certain size, we'd be lost in the noise and gradually our audience would disappear. In fact, our listener growth in the last 12 months has been only a few percent. I'm sure a lot of the reason for that is there are no so many different options for listening to music online, and as people have more choices, they spend less time focusing on a single source for their music.

That's why we expand. And we expand into formats that are related to our existing formats. Illinois Street Lounge grew out of Secret Agent - bachelor pad music and easy listening but without the "spy" vibe. Digitalis grew out of Cliqhop and Indie Pop Rocks; Lush is a vocal-alternative to Groove Salad which most listeners prefer we keep instrumental.

When I audition music (and this is true for all the other music directors), we find a lot of good music that doesn't fit our normal channels. We start building up playlists for these new styles, and after a while, we sometimes find that we're getting tons of music that's really good but doesn't fit into an existing channel. That's when we launch a new channel.

The best thing about these new channels is that it gives our supporters a chance to hear something different yet still stay loyal to SomaFM. My goal is to be able to provide a variety of different styles of really good, hand-chosen music for our listeners no matter what kind of a mood you are in.

Hopefully that answered your question!

SoundExchange Royalty Update

rusty@somafm.com (Rusty Hodge [SomaFM]) — Wed, 10 Dec 2008 23:29:00 -0800

A lot of people have asked if we've gotten everything settled with SoundExchange yet. Unfortunately, the answer is no. Basically, SoundExchange is in negotiations with some of the larger webcasters represented by DiMA. Once those negotiations have concluded, SoundExchange will then be negotiations with the small webcasters. I'm expecting that it won't be until Feb 2009 when the agreement is finalized.