The Audio-On-Demand Genie - Page 5

Internet radio, or TCP/IP radio, or Webcasting, or whatever you want to call it, is exciting stuff, just in terms of the way it greatly expands available programming. However, it also sets free an even more powerful media genie. In theory, it enables fully user-defined programming. In other words, rather than relying on a DJ to choose musical selections, a listener can create their own personal playlist, drawing on any media available on the Net, including not only existing recordings, but news feeds and other live material. In terms of the technology required, there's no reason something like this couldn't exist today. But does it?

Well, it's easy enough to set up a custom playlist on a single system, or even a LAN. Products such as MusicMatch Jukebox and RealJukebox let you define playlists of audio content. But they fall short of our Perfect Radio Station for three reasons:

• They are limited to audio files stored on the local system. There's no provision for playing files over the Internet, or for incorporating live Webcasts. The PRS allows any and all content, prerecorded or live, to be included in a user-defined program.
• The software itself runs on a local system. The PRS is a hosted application, running 100% on an Internet server, and is thus available from any computer device anywhere in the world.
• They allow unauthorized (that is, in violation of copyright) media use. While their makers surely don't condone unauthorized copying, a media player of this kind has no way to distinguish between an authorized sound file and an unauthorized one. The PRS tracks all media playback, and submits data to the relevant authorities, so that copyright holders are compensated properly. Like it or not, this probably means that the PRS will have some form of advertising (okay, so it's less than perfect).

So, today's so-called media jukebox is not a contender for the title of PRS, although with a few improvements it could be. If such a device were offered as a hosted application, and support for live Webcasts were added, it would come pretty darn close to our Holy Radio Grail. So it's plain that the technical challenges of building the PRS are not that great. Legal issues are what's keeping it in the bottle for the moment.

Webcasting Versus Audio on Demand

Webcasts featuring both signed and unsigned talent are very common, as is audio on demand by unsigned artists. At the moment, you'll find very few sites where work by signed artists is legally available on demand. Why is this so? First, a few definitions.

Webcasting (or Internet radio) is the process of streaming a sequential program directly to a user's sound card. It does not leave the user with any permanent copy of the music, and it does not give the user direct control over what selections are played. Although the huge amount of programming available would seem to satisfy all but the most picky, and although as we shall see in next month's column, some Webcasting sites do allow a certain amount of customization, Webcasting by definition includes the concept of a DJ, who determines what selections will be played in what order.

Audio on demand, on the other hand, allows the user to play any available selection at any time, via either streaming or downloading. The user can listen to the same song ten times in a row if desired, and there are doubtless people who do just that.

A signed artist is one who is represented by a major, or at least respectable-size, record company. They release recordings with the intention of making a profit from them, and generally regard their works as salable merchandise, not to be given away.

Unsigned artists, generally speaking, have little hope of earning much from record sales, but rather tend to regard their recordings more as publicity tools than cash cows. Thus, many unsigned artists are happy to offer their works on demand. Take your pick of a million or so at MP3.com and IUMA.

The recording industry has no problem with Webcasting, any more than they have with traditional radio. Through the RIAA, copyright holders collect fees from broadcasters, and as everyone knows, radio play does tend to induce people to go out and buy records. Audio on demand, however, they view with suspicion, seeing it as an invitation to unauthorized copying and loss of potential sales. It's easy to see why they take this view. Even if you can collect money for the initial download, you just can't stop people from making endless copies.

This writer believes that in the future, all data will be stored on central servers, the concept of "owning" a recording will become obsolete, and record companies will have more control over distribution, not less. But be that as it may, for now the recording industry generally subscribes to this view: Webcasting good, audio on demand bad.

Next Wave of the Web:
Building the Perfect Radio Station - Page 4
Next Wave of the Web
Perfect Radio Station, Imperfect World - Page 6