The fix is in -- massive Web radio fee hike & the XM/Sirius merger

[David Farber <dave () farber net>]

Begin forwarded message:

From: Lauren Weinstein <lauren () vortex com>
Date: March 7, 2007 3:03:19 PM EST
To: dave () farber net
Cc: lauren () vortex com
Subject: The fix is in -- massive Web radio fee hike & the XM/Sirius  
merger


Dave,

While no conspiracy beyond "business as usual" is required to
explain this confluence of events, it is fascinating to note the
continuing collapse of true competition in the music and radio
industries (as in the Internet ISP industry).

On one hand, we have the proposed XM/Sirius merger, touted
nonsensically as a boon to consumers.  But -- oops! -- word is out
that the FCC Chairman is concerned that Sirius' Karmazin wasn't
exactly forthcoming when he suggested that consumers wouldn't face
increased fees for combined services under the merger plan.  Karmazin
now seems to say that he was misunderstood -- of *course* the fees
would be higher if you wanted the union of what XM and Sirius
currently have available.  But Karmazin -- the same guy who arranged
Howard Stern's $500 million Sirius deal -- insists that with
competitors like Internet radio, the merger should still go through,
prior FCC rules be damned.

Hmmm.  But what about that Internet radio competition?  Word is out
today that the Copyright Royalty Board is proposing massive fee
increases and the end of exemptions -- a combination that will
likely put all but the largest Internet radio broadcasters --
especially the ones with limited revenue, nonprofits, and the like
-- out of business.  So much for that flavor of competition.  But the
recording industry isn't concerned.  As their spokesman noted, large
operations like Yahoo! and Clear Channel Communications will certainly
be able to pony up plenty of new moola.

Everyone else be damned, obviously.

--Lauren--
Lauren Weinstein
lauren () vortex com or lauren () pfir org
Tel: +1 (818) 225-2800
http://www.pfir.org/lauren
Co-Founder, PFIR
   - People For Internet Responsibility - http://www.pfir.org
Co-Founder, IOIC
   - International Open Internet Coalition - http://www.ioic.net
Founder, CIFIP
   - California Initiative For Internet Privacy - http://www.cifip.org
Founder, PRIVACY Forum - http://www.vortex.com
Member, ACM Committee on Computers and Public Policy
Lauren's Blog: http://lauren.vortex.com
DayThink: http://daythink.vortex.com




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