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RIAA, NAB want mandatory FM radio in mobile electronics

By

On August 17, 2010, 6:25 PM EST

Music labels and broadcasters have been at odds for years over whether the FM radio industry should pay performance rights to artists and labels when a song is played on air. Unlike Internet and satellite services, FM radio only pays songwriters under the current framework, and they believe they're exempt from the fees because they provide a valuable promotional tool.

Looking to resolve the conflict, both sides hope to ink an agreement: radio would pay $100 million a year, and in return it would gain a massive listener base through the forced inclusion of FM radio chips in portable devices. Thus, the RIAA and NAB are pushing for a Congressional mandate that would require cell phones and other mobile electronics to carry an FM receiver.

Strongly opposed to the idea, the Consumer Electronics Association (whose members would be affected) said the proposal is "the height of absurdity" and "not in our national interest." The NAB shrugged off those remarks saying that trade associations "always oppose new rules," adding that widespread FM access would be handy from a public safety perspective.

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User Comments (21)

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Guest
on August 17, 2010
6:29 PM

The RIAA needs to be killed and then Cromwelled. Articles like this make me want to grab my laptop and stand inside a record store and burn CDs for free for anyone who was going to pay for one.

Reply

CodePhoeniX
on August 17, 2010
6:30 PM

But I don't want a FM radio in my portable solar powered flashing LED box.

Reply

KG363
on August 17, 2010
6:47 PM

What ridiculous and intrusive legislation

Reply

Guest
on August 17, 2010
8:16 PM

let the ****** pay $100 million dollars for this, just because it's there doesn't mean anyone will use it.

Reply

Tekkaraiden
on August 17, 2010
8:29 PM

I'd love to see them force Apple to add a fm tuner in the iphone/ipod/ipad. Apples lawyers haven't had that much to do lately.

Reply

Guest
on August 17, 2010
8:45 PM

I don't bother with terrestrial radio. I switched to Sat radio almost 10 years ago.

Yeah, paying for something most people get free...I get a LOT of that, but, I tell

them I get NO commercials on the music stations I listen to, plus, when traveling

I can tune into some of the cable news channels, sports, talk without hunting all

over the dial, I can store songs, artist for later playback, and did I mention that

I have no annoying commercials on the music channels? Plus, I get a better

VARIETY of music, not just the "top 20" cycled over and over and over during

the day. Oh, I get NO commercials on the music channels...in case I missed

pointing that out

Reply

thatguyandrew92
on August 17, 2010
8:54 PM

Haha. I hope my iPOD, full of music I want to listen to, is forced to have FM radio, I LOVE commercials soooo much!

Reply

mattfrompa
on August 17, 2010
9:31 PM

Maybe they can get Apple to help with the antennae implementation : ]

Reply

TorturedChaos
on August 17, 2010
9:36 PM

I don't like the idea on the simple principle I don't like having something shoved down my throat especially when it be by the gov't and obnoxious organizations like the RIAA.

Reply

KG363
on August 17, 2010
9:50 PM

TorturedChaos said:

I don't like the idea on the simple principle I don't like having something shoved down my throat especially when it be by the gov't and obnoxious organizations like the RIAA.

this

Reply

JudaZ
on August 17, 2010
10:14 PM

I never , ever, used my FM radio in any of my mobiles, and any of my mp3 palyers....why would anyone still want FM radio???

Reply

captaincranky
on August 17, 2010
11:34 PM

I don't own a cell phone for this reason, I don't like you, and I don't want you calling me in the first place, period. I drive a motorcycle, the iPod's earbuds would probably blow out every block or so, at least every block that you weren't being pulled over for wearing them. Well, to tell the truth, I don't like iPods either.

That said, the RIAA can go f*** themselves.

How do they think of this crap anyway, have their directors and lawyers eat bowel loosening foods and hold their board meetings in the s***house?

Reply

nazartp
on August 18, 2010
7:44 AM

Captain, I'm with you. On what grounds should the government interfere in a free market? That's the most hairbrained idea I've heard in a while.

Reply

Darkshadoe
on August 18, 2010
9:40 AM

Obvious discrimination against AM radio here..I can smell a lawsuit..:P

Reply

tengeta
on August 18, 2010
10:30 AM

Talk about killing the iPhones battery life EVEN more!

Reply

windmill007
on August 18, 2010
11:08 AM

Great Idea!!! I love my FM

Reply

KidChaos
on August 18, 2010
11:26 AM

Sure RIAA lets do that and require an AM receiver and a telegraph wire connection too... while we're at it, include a flint and steel so that we can light a fire for smoke signals.. Someone please push the RIAA and their lawyers off a cliff...

Reply

Night Hacker
on August 18, 2010
12:23 PM

I like the idea of having FM radio in newer mobile electronics, help keep radio alive, but I have never liked mandatory anything. In a free society, forcing companies to do something like this is just plain wrong and smacks hard of socialism.

Reply

captaincranky
on August 18, 2010
12:29 PM

In a free society, forcing companies to do something like this is just plain wrong and smacks hard of socialism.
Well, with all due respect, I think that there's good socialism and bad socialism. Having the Government force drug companies to price drugs reasonably, Wall Street Bankers to control CEO pay and accept more controls on loans and such, would be "good socialism".

However, I wholeheartedly agree that the RIAA and its lawyers are an arrogant pack of parasites, and "good socialism" in this case would be having the government pass heavy control legislation on them, as opposed to what it does now, which is accept campaign "donations", and pander to their psychotic excursions from reality.

Reply

MrAnderson
on August 18, 2010
1:50 PM

How much can in agreement I am with you on that!

Also, the precidence of this 100 million price means that the music industry can increase this valueover time with all sorts of claims of inflation etc. The true is that most music would not make it with out radio and they are doing the music industry a favor. They are scraping every last thing to wretch money out of anything they try to rationalize as owing them.

Regarding FM devices. Forcing any device moble device manufaturer to include anything additional hardware unless it is for physical safety based on best practices, is just crazy talk. There needs to be legistlation to desolve organizations that are formed from bottomless pocketed corps that can group resouces to attack and control/modify our law system and populous in such away which is in their interest.

I'm totally against corp entities being able to have the same rights as individual citizens (maybe even more) and also have the resources and 100 or even thousands of people/minds behind them. These are the kinds of legislation reforms that the "people" need.

Reply

spydercanopus
on August 19, 2010
9:54 PM

This is the face of fascism

Reply

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