Archive: 2002-06-22
The RIAA Won. We All Lost
Congratulations to the RIAA. They have successfully destroyed a vibrant underground internet music scene. My favourite station, Monkey Radio is no more. SomaFM is gone too. Places that you could listen to good, intelligent music chosen by quality, filling a niche audience, without obtrusive advertising. Radio that didn’t have to worry about geographical boundaries. Stations that, instead of being paid for by advertising or big corporations, often cost the people who were running them money. Unknown musicians could get exposure. Ironically, many musicians signed contracts with major labels after getting a name through relatively popular stations like SomaFM. What a change from the payola-infested, homogeneity of commercial radio. I can’t remember the last time I listened to a commercial music station.