Today was supposed to be the day that Internet radio died in reaction to the Copyright Royalty Board's increased royalty rates. That didn't happen, and the story going around is that it is because of the grassroots campaign that told Congress "I want my Internet radio." I've got a new piece up on Huffington Post on that topic:
I came of age in a time when "I Want My MTV" felt like a battle cry. In retrospect, of course, we were millions of American youngsters parroting a corporate marketing slogan designed to get local broadcasters to add the music channel to their lineup. We were kids and teens mounting the hustings on behalf a cable programming decision.
But still, there was something real and meaningful about MTV in those early years. I distinctly remember waiting, waiting for the premiere of Madonna's "Like a Prayer" video, and the chaos that ensued when advertisers and some parents got a look at the first lady of pop brandishing stigmata. "I Want My MTV" may have been pure marketing pap. But once we had a taste of media that broke new ground, we wanted more of it. We weren't about to go back.
Over the last few years, Americans have gotten a taste of Internet radio, and the last handful of weeks have proven that they don't want to go back.
Hope you'll give it a read. It's a challenge to make Internet radio seem important as it is when, you know, we've got wars going on, but we're at a crossroads where consolidated broadcast media lies in one direction and a thriving independent creative landscape lies the other. And that's important because it was consolidated broadcast media that helped to get us into one of those wars in the first place.
