RadioActivity.fm: Articles
On the SoundExchange "Reports of Use Delivery Specifications"
02/14/2007Chapter 1: Introduction
Over the last few weeks I have been working on a RadioActivity.fm export that meets the SoundExchange "Reports of Use Delivery Specifications". (Link dead 2010)
Just to recap: The 'Reports of Use' stem from the latest iteration in what is an ongoing process involving the U.S. Copyright Office's Copyright Royalty Board, SoundExchange. Many U.S. webcasters are now tasked with submitting detailed quarterly playlist reports to SoundExchange.
This is a gross oversimplification of a somewhat complicated issue, but the upshot is that it has spawned lots
of interest in playlist logging and reporting - even more so because the first round of reports are due no later than
May 15th of this year - are still kicking around the CRB process, but coming down the pike.
This document is concerned with the practical and technical hurdles facing anyone attempting to create these reports. I infer that other developers, webcasters, and General Managers across the country are going through the same process, so I wanted to document my findings and experiences here. As always, please contact me with any questions or comments.
If you are in a hurry, here is the entire article summarized in a single paragraph: While it is possible to use station playlist data to create a properly formatted "Reports of Use Delivery Specifications", RadioActivity.fm has noted key areas in the process fraught with ambiguity, complexity, and complication. We felt it necessary to comment on some specific issues - especially with the hope of helping small-market stations with limited technical resources to create and submit SoundExchange Reports Of Use. This article outlines the problematic areas we found, and highlights some soultions and custom tools created by RadioActivity.fm to assist with the reporting process.
Readers are highly encouraged to familiarize themselves with their copyright and royalty obligations on their own, and to read the SoundExchange document specs a few times before proceeding.
Ready to dig in?
Click here to continue to Part 2: Key concepts and issues
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Part 1: Part 2: Key concepts and issues Part 3: Decisions, decisions Part 4: Aggregate Tuning Hours Part 5: The SoundExchange reporting specs Part 6: Conclusions |