A pic of my Sangean PR-D5 radio playing a radio stream off my tablet computer, back in 2016. In a few years, that tablet computer's screen may show a blocked website instead.
Several years ago I wrote an article about Geo-Fencing, and how it would be the death of radio DXing (Distance Listening).
In that article, I suggested that because of streaming royalty fees, there may be a day in the far future where you won't be able to DX or hear broadcasts in other states and cities. The AM stations may lower their power to save money, or go all-digital (which doesn't DX as well as analog signals), and they will Geo-Fence their online streams -- essentially blocking listeners from other areas.
A link to my previous article, which I originally wrote in 2016:
Interrock Nation: GEO-BLOCKING AND THE DEATH OF DXing (Radio Distance Listening)
A recent decision by the US Copyright Royalties Board may have accelerated that possibility.
WHAT IS GEO-FENCING?
Now, "Geo-Fencing" is the practice of limiting the regions of the world that can log into your radio stream. To put it simply: they 'fence' you off.
I personally discovered Geo-Fencing in 2015 or so when I tried to 'tune in' to NFL football games in other cities, and found out, to my dismay, that the streaming of games was blocked. A Pittsburgh station would be broadcasting a Steelers game over the air, but their online stream was a repeat show of some guy talking about sports.
This was an example of Geo-Fencing -- the NFL wants control over who gets to hear or watch every game. They want to monetise every single view (or listener). Hence, if you want to watch or listen to games online, you have to pay via the NFL site (or another pay service that pays the NFL). This is a type of Geo-Fencing: blocking who can access the content.
In broadcasting, there is also Geo-Fencing of radio broadcast streams.
SOME HISTORY: STATIONS DIDN'T ALWAYS BLOCK ACCESS
When radio stations started streaming their broadcasts in the 2000's, they generally let anyone in the world log in and listen. In fact, in 2000, I was able to listen to stations in Australia daily from work, using my computer. I could also listen to US radio stations anywhere. When I first got Tune-In in 2012, it was like a smorgasbord of radio. I could hear stations all over the US, and all over the world.
Then I started seeing more and more stations streams being blocked. I would 'tune in' a station on the Tune-In app, and I would get an error message stating that the station's stream is not available in my part of the world. This was an example of Geo-Fencing -- I was being 'fenced off' from hearing the programming.
As the royalties for streamed music increased, after a protracted series of negotiations between the NAB (National Association of Broadcasters), representatives for the music publishers, and representatives for musical artists (who believed they weren't getting enough money for streaming of their music), stations had to pay more for every song streamed over the internet.
Then many radio stations started Geo-Fencing (or Geo-Blocking).
For example, when I first began to listen to a rock station out of California, sometimes I'd log into their stream when the AM band wasn't delivering the signal. After a while, they started Geo-Fencing. I would get an error message on my computer screen.
Some stations that are part of the IHeart or Radio.com (now Audacy.com) networks never Geo-Fenced.
But a lot of stations that aren't part of those networks chose to Geo-Fence, because every time an online listener hears a song played, the station pays a fee. And stations do not care to pay for listeners in far away places. They only make money off of local listeners.
Hence, we got Geo-Fencing.
A NEW INCREASE IN FEES: POSSIBLE INCREASE IN GEO-FENCING
A recent decision reached by the US Copyright Royalties Board may change online radio listening, especially for people who listen from far away places, or other metros. Some think this may also induce smaller radio stations to stop streaming altogether.
The US Copyright Royalties Board recently increased the cost per song / per listener from $.0018 to $.0021. Now, these rates may look small, but if you use a calculator, and multiply 1000 online listeners times 10 songs per hour, that's maybe $500 a day ($3500 a week). Using this example of 1000 listeners / 10 songs an hour, it would be around a $700 a week increase), which could be a lot of money for a smaller station to pay. In the case of 1000 listeners every hour I suggested above, that would be an increase of costs for a station amounting to $20K - $30K a year.
The article can be read here: CRB Raises Royalty Rates - Radio Ink
Not only are the per-song-streamed costs going up, but there are other streaming fees that will also increase.
Some radio analysts believe that this increase in costs will lead to more stations Geo-Fencing, and they also think that many stations will turn off their streams, period. After all, local listeners have the FM or AM broadcast that they can listen to, for free. And due to longstanding agreements and laws, the Over-The-Air costs of playing a song are much less than they are for streaming the same exact song.
ANOTHER OPTION: PAID SUBSCRIPTION
Another option that may happen thanks to increases in streaming royalty costs is the rise of the paid subscription model. In other words, you pay to be able to listen to a radio station's online stream. Apparently there are a handful of stations in the United States that do this, including one in Monterey, California that plays eclectic music.
Paying for content online, obviously, is not a new idea. It began to be a standard in the last decade, as internet content providers learned how to monetise their content. There are numerous examples of pay-to-play in the online content world, be it video, audio, written media, or a mixture of both.
For example, most online newspapers have paywalls. They may give you three or four free articles, and then you have to pay to access anything except headlines -- and some online newspapers will not even allow you to access those without paying.
Online radio may adopt the same model. The only stations that won't be affected -- possibly -- are the ones associated with the big streamers IHeart and Audacy (the former Radio.com). There may come a time that even those two will charge, but I have read that because they are large conglomerates, they apparently can negotiate their own royalty rates.
WHAT DOES THIS ALL MEAN TO DXers?
In my earlier article on DXing and Geo-Fencing, I saw a day approaching (maybe a decade or two away) where AM DX stations would be lower powered, or off the air, and you wouldn't be able to hear them online either, due to Geo-Fencing.
This new agreement and ruling from the US Copyright Royalties Board may accelerate that day. Chances are high that in the future, royalties will not go down: they will always go up.
Radio is having trouble making money right now. Since 2005, radio revenues in the US, industry wide, has dropped by a third -- and if you account for the 30% inflation since 2005, radio has lost almost 60% in real revenue in just 16 years. Radio is in no place to pay more for streaming music without seeing a ROI (return of investment).
And Still: GET 'EM WHILE YOU CAN
Once again, I'll repeat my recent mantra: Get 'Em While You Can.
If you have a SW radio, log all the stations now before more go off the air. Don't depend on some recent glowing forecasts of an awesome sunspot cycle -- there is a possibility the solar prognosticators may be wrong, and even if they're right, that doesn't mean SW stations won't go off the air.
As recent as Sept. 2020, NASA was telling us that Solar Cycle 25 could be as weak as Cycle 24 was. Cycle 24 peaked at 114 sunspots. NASA believes Cycle 25 will peak at 115.
You can read the article here: Hello Solar Cycle 25 (weather.gov)
This certainly would follow the trend noticed by some solar observers over the past several cycles.:
A NOAA based chart showing the downward trend in Solar peaks since Cycles 21 and 22 a couple decades ago.
Another NOAA / NASA based graph forecasting Cycle 25. As you can see, it may be the same as Cycle 24, which although OK, wasn't phenomenal.
If you have a decent AM radio and are into the AM band (especially DXing at night), enjoy it while you can. AM radio is having more trouble with the economy than FM radio, and FM radio isn't exactly rolling in the dough in many regions. As the Solar Cycle progresses, MW reception at night should improve, which should help DXers.
Finally, if you enjoy streaming radio from other cities and countries, enjoy it while you can. In a decade what you may be able to hear may be reduced, or you may have to subscribe to listen to it.
IN OTHER NEWS...
The weather here has been summery. I haven't started clearing the yard yet, but that's on my long list of things to do in better weather.
I've been riding my ten-speed bike a lot more. I got out of the habit over the fairly cold, damp and rainy winter, and decided a week ago that I need to ensure I return to the habit of daily 5 mile bike rides. I have to admit, it's very enjoyable, even if it's at night and there isn't much to see, it's a great pastime.
I got my second corona vaccine shot (Pfizer), and had no side effects (at least any that I could tell). in two weeks I will be considered 'vaccinated'.
I notice I have had some visitors here from new places: Bulgaria, Belarus, Iraq, Romania, the Netherlands, Belgium, Turkey, South Korea, and Poland. I also have visitors from Germany, the UK, Italy, Russia, Ukraine, and sometimes France. In the other parts of the world I have been getting visitors from India, Brazil, Argentina, Indonesia, and Australia. I had a visitor from Nepal, which was a first. I had a visitor from Iran last week.
I always appreciate it when people from overseas visit here, and try to keep my subjects and writing with them in mind.
Peace and good health to all of you, wherever you are.
C.C. 6-21-.2021
No comments:
Post a Comment