[BC] Listening in the car

Sat Aug 5 12:14:50 CDT 2006

  Rich, you talk like what I said is blue-sky speculation.   For a year now
I have subscribed to a number of podcasts (not streaming dups of broadcast
stations) that are downloaded to my computer automatically and listen to
them at my convenience throughout the day.
http://www.podcastdirectory.comis just one of a number of directories
of these podcasts and even the
popular iTunes now carries them.   In fact Google lists 37,100,000 pages
regarding podcasting so this is a giant industry growing by leaps and
bounds.  So to say that this can't work just isn't true.  Its working for me
and millions like me right now.  And the fact that I have not listened to
local radio in months certainly shows that it can replace it.  I know you
people in radio want to close their eyes to this new competition and that's
your privilege but that won't stop it from happening.

 - Nat Kayle

On 8/5/06, Rich Wood <richwood at pobox.com> wrote:
>
> ------ At 09:20 AM 8/5/2006, nakayle at gmail.com wrote: -------
>
> >  Well the thing about it is that netcasting is very cheap compared to
> >broadcasting.  It can easily be a one-man operation- no license, no
> >regulations, no limits on numbers or range, yet even the smallest
> netcaster
> >has a world-wide clear-channel so he can reach a select audience
> where-ever
> >they are with a few sponsors interested in this targeted audience- so if
> a
> >guy likes fishing and wants to hear people talk about fishing while he
> >drives to work- he can now do that and makers of fishing gear will be
> eager
> >to pay to reach him.
>
> Nat,
>      You need to do a little research. I've been involved with
> several companies (on boards of directors, boards of advisors, etc)
> who provided streaming services. I was among the first radio stations
> (WOR) to put a radio station on broadcast.com. Virtually every
> company that provided streaming services has raised its prices or
> gone out of business. The RIAA sensed fresh blood and added fees for
> webcast music. AFTRA wanted its performers to be compensated for
> commercials run in streams. Ad agencies told stations not to run
> their commercials on the web because they hadn't contracted for that
> service. A whole new industry sprang up to replace spots in streams
> that were done by AFTRA personnel. If you think small basement
> webcasters will get away scott free, remember the RIAA is the
> organization that went after kids illegally sharing music.
>
> Remember, when you buy music on CD or download it, you DO NOT own it.
> Effectively, you lease it. You have the legal right to make an
> archival copy or one to use in the car. The interesting catch is
> (like software) it can be used by only one person at a time. You
> can't let your wife listen to the same music you're listening to in
> the car at the same time. Pretty soon, along with all the HDTV copy
> protection schemes, I'll bet we'll see copy protection make a return
> just like the early days of software.
>
> Shortly after Mark Cuban sold broadcast.com to Yahoo, they shut it
> down. The cost of bandwidth was too expensive and brought in very
> little money. Most stations couldn't afford what they'd have to
> charge. The more listeners, the more bandwidth, the higher the price.
>
> Please don't delude yourself into believing that webcasting is free.
> It isn't. At the moment, most large webcasters are relying on
> advertising to keep it free to the consumer - the broadcast model.
>
> >Programs like this will be available for every imaginable interest that
> can
> >downloaded to a Ipod-like device that you can carry with you as easily as
> a
> >portable radio.  And eventually there will be universal WiFi and WiMax so
> >you can hear this stuff in real time anywhere.
>
> With some reservations, I agree these services will be available.
> Again, don't delude yourself into believing that they'll be free.
> Most of the providers are Telcos. There isn't much they do for free.
> WiMAX requires a huge infrastructure. For it to work and replace
> broadcasting, Telcos will have to cover as much of the nation as
> radio stations do. If New England is any example, there are lots more
> towers yet to be built before their coverage comes anywhere near
> radio. If you live in a rural area away from a major highway, the
> only bars you're going to see sell booze.
>
> >People in broadcasting will have to realize the world is changing- and
> the
> >future is not broadcasting- it's narrowcasting- so that everyone can hear
> >what they want- not what mass marketers think they should hear.
>
> Unless you're psychic you don't know what the future will be. Yes,
> the world is changing. The risk is that it might change in very
> different directions than you expect. Every one of us has heard the
> predictions of radio's death for decades - every time some technology
> appears that makes noise.
>
> No one has yet been able to answer if WiMAX or other wireless
> services will be able to handle hundreds of thousands of streams,
> connections or whatever we'll call them, at the same time at the
> highest speeds they promise at all times. I'm about 10 miles North of
> a city with wireless "broadband." Not what we expect from cable or
> DSL (though much more expensive) and I can't receive the highest
> speed service, though the price is the same. For Cingular the
> unlimited data service (without a voice line) is $79.99 They mention
> an additional $19.99 for WiFi add on. Not sure what that's all about
> because you, allegedly, have an Internet connection with the data
> card.  lower priced unlimited service is $59.99 if you have at least
> the $39.99 voice service. This is known as a tethered service since
> it can be connected to a computer. That "lower price" is $20 more
> expensive than the expensive service. Only Telcos and cable companies
> seem to be able to offer their less expensive services at higher
> prices than their expensive services. Don't forget those government
> taxes and the cost of the data card.
>
> If you have a Treo you need the $39.99 voice service plus the $39.99
> data service. That doesn't allow a computer connection. Without the
> data service the Treo has no Internet access. It has text messaging
> but no web surfing.
>
> I believe we'll have wireless Internet in the future that'll make
> IBUZ look like a crank telephone. Radio services will become content
> providers.
>
> Right now, it sure sounds to me like all this "free" wireless
> Internet service is pretty expensive.
>
> Rich
>
>
> Rich Wood
> Rich Wood Multimedia
> Phone: 413-454-3258
>
>
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