Hi, kids. Me again.
I run an online radio show called Soundcheck. It's a small hole-in-the-wall kind of operation where I play indie music and stuff from the Creative Commons. And all the music I play I need permission for because of Copyright Law.
Though I have gotten lucky and recieved permission to play Eels, Metric, Spoon, and Death From Above 1979, and also have access to some nice indie music sites like the Podsafe Music Network and a few netlabels, I'd need to get licensed to play a lot of the more "mainstream" bands (by which I mean bands you've heard of--even in the indie scene). To get an ASCAP license, it costs $300, though.
First, that's a lot of money. $300 a year might be doable for me--but that's a lot for a radio station that makes NO money and doesn't WANT to make money (I do it to promote small time artists).
Second, I don't like the idea of PAYING someone money to promote their music and try to get more people to go out and buy their records. There's something wrong with that scheme. "Hi Pepsi, I'd like to put ads up on my show...and I'll pay you to do it". That's ass-backwards (I hate that phrase).
The upside is if I can get more listeners by playing someone they know, then I can slip in all these artists they DON'T know.
So, if anyone reads this....what's your opinion?
I run an online radio show called Soundcheck. It's a small hole-in-the-wall kind of operation where I play indie music and stuff from the Creative Commons. And all the music I play I need permission for because of Copyright Law.
Though I have gotten lucky and recieved permission to play Eels, Metric, Spoon, and Death From Above 1979, and also have access to some nice indie music sites like the Podsafe Music Network and a few netlabels, I'd need to get licensed to play a lot of the more "mainstream" bands (by which I mean bands you've heard of--even in the indie scene). To get an ASCAP license, it costs $300, though.
First, that's a lot of money. $300 a year might be doable for me--but that's a lot for a radio station that makes NO money and doesn't WANT to make money (I do it to promote small time artists).
Second, I don't like the idea of PAYING someone money to promote their music and try to get more people to go out and buy their records. There's something wrong with that scheme. "Hi Pepsi, I'd like to put ads up on my show...and I'll pay you to do it". That's ass-backwards (I hate that phrase).
The upside is if I can get more listeners by playing someone they know, then I can slip in all these artists they DON'T know.
So, if anyone reads this....what's your opinion?