Huzzah! The CARP recommendations have been rejected by the Librarian of Congress. (Am I the only one who, when hearing the title “Librarian of Congress,” pictures some elderly, matronly woman shushing rowdy Senators for speaking too loudly in the non-fiction section?)
It’s probably only a temporary stay of execution, but it looks like we’ll be able to broadcast for at least a few more months. <knock on silicon>
As many of you know, the Librarian of Congress has until May 21 to either accept or reject the recommendations of the Copyright Arbitration Royalty Panel (“CARP”) concerning Internet radio royalty rates and record-keeping requirements.
Barring an unseasonable drop in temperature in hell and the subsequent transformation of H2O from liquid to solid form, Radio Free Tiny Pineapple will be going dark on or around May 21st. RFTP will simply revert to what it was in the beginning: a way for me to listen to my CDs at work. You just won’t be able to listen in anymore.
That’s a shame because, based on the traffic and fan mail that we get, it is obvious that RFTP is meeting the needs of a niche that is poorly-served by conventional broadcasters.
It is also obvious, based on the number of CD purchases at Amazon.com that are made by RFTP listeners linking directly from our site, that RFTP is generating quite a bit of revenue for the record labels. (And who knows how much revenue we’re generating indirectly? I think Jonatha Brooke owes me a car.)
Still, I do believe that artists should be compensated for their works, and if artists (by way of their labels and the RIAA) feel that the CARP recommendations are the best way to facilitate that, who am I to say otherwise?
As Goethe once said, “There ain’t no fighting The Man…”
Additional Links:
Amazon.com Launches New Lawn & Patio Store in Time for Spring; Eliminates Shopping Hassle for Customers Who Can Now Spend More Time Enjoying the Outdoors
SEATTLE–(BUSINESS WIRE)–April 5, 2000–Leading online retailer Amazon.com today launched a new Lawn & Patio store, with thousands of popular and hard-to-find products for lawn and patio decoration, care, and enjoyment.
The store features an extensive selection of outdoor grills, patio furniture, birdfeeders, lawn mowers, garden tools and decorative ornaments from more than 50 leading brands, including Weber, Fiskars, Rubbermaid, Rain Bird, Melnor/Gardena, Gilmour, Ryobi, Echo, Weed Eater, Corona and Miracle-Gro.
“Shopping at the Amazon.com Lawn & Patio store is convenient because we carry a vast selection of the many brands that consumers want,” said Joe Galli, Amazon.com president and COO. “Shoppers can now spend more time outdoors doing the things they enjoy and less time fighting store crowds for their lawn and patio needs.”
| The Scotts Company 72420 Miracle-Gro 20-Pound All Purpose Potting Soil
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Amazon Trims Offerings
NEW YORK–February 2, 2001–Online retailer Amazon.com confirmed reports Friday that it will eliminate unprofitable items from its large selection of offerings.
The move, first reported in Friday’s edition of the Wall Street Journal, is being made as part of Amazon’s effort to post an operating profit by the fourth quarter of this year, according to Bill Curry, a company spokesman.
“We are absolutely committed to being profitable by the end of this year, and one way to do this is to make sure that every item contributes to profitability.”
The program — which CEO Jeff Bezos dubbed “Get the Crap Out,” in an internal memo, according to the Journal report — is a detraction from the company’s previous strategy of selling nearly anything people want to buy, including patio furniture and beauty products.
“A spectacular 50ft. high replica. Contains an observation deck and 2 floors of audio-visual displays of Queensland’s tropical production. Overlooking the POLYNESIAN ROOM (tropical restaurant and gift shop) and a tour by SUGAR CANE TRAIN through scenic SUNSHINE PLANTATION.”
Radio Free Tiny Pineapple just got a mention in the Calgary Herald. In an article entitled “The Net Captures The World’s Music” they discuss the current state of Internet radio and list “three online stations to try”:
They were even kind enough to refer to RFTP as “ideal office fare.”
Special thanks to Kevin Franco for sending us the clipping.
In related news, the BBC has filed a defamation lawsuit for being mentioned in the same article as us.
