From Xeni Jardin via Boing Boing:

A collaborative commentary on The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA), which proposes a new economic foundation for the USA through "job preservation and creation, infrastructure investment, energy efficiency and science, assistance to the unemployed," and the FCC's creation of a a "National Broadband Plan" for Congress by February 17, 2010.

There's risk in confusing broadband and Internet. If the National Broadband Plan starts from the premise that the U.S. needs the innovation, increased productivity, new ideas and freedoms of expression that the Internet affords, then the Plan will be shaped around the Internet. If, instead, the Plan is premised on a need for broadband, it fails to address the ARRA's mandated objectives directly. More importantly, the premise that broadband is the primary goal entertains the remaking of the Internet in ways that could put its benefits at risk. The primary goal of the Plan should be broadband connections to the Internet. The FCC's Internet Policy Statement of 2005 is a first attempt to codify important aspects of the Internet independent of access technology. It advocates end-user access to content, and end-user choice of applications, services and devices. It says that Internet users are, "entitled to competition," but it does not spell out the entitlement to the benefits of competition, such as increased choice, lower price and diversity of offers. It fails to provide for information about whether advertised services perform as specified. It doesn't address packet inspection, packet discrimination, data collection or end-user privacy. It is not clear that all of these are within the FCC's purview, but it is abundantly clear that all of these factors should be critical to a National Broadband Plan that addresses broadband connections to the Internet. Therefore, we urge that the FCC's National Broadband Plan emphasize that broadband connection to the Internet is the primary goal.

a s l o n g a s i t t a k e s, a sound poetry magazine published by the Atlanta Poets Group, is seeking submissions. We are looking for sound poetry, scores for sound poetry and essays on sound poetry. What is sound poetry? you ask. Good question. It's one of those know it when you see (hear) it kind of things. It's probably not music (thanks Dick Higgins). It might be noise. If you think about a spectrum of possible noise made by the human body (or simulations thereof or substitutions therefor), and at one end of the spectrum is a person reading her poem and at the other end is abstract noise, we're looking for works that fall towards the latter end. We are looking for works in/of/against the tradition(s) of Ball, Schwitters, Henri Chopin, Jandl, Cobbing, The Four Horsemen, Fylkingen Group... hopefully by now you get the idea. We're looking for stuff that will push/redefine the limits. The magazine is web-based. Please send submissions to aslongasittakes@comcast.net in one of the following formats: .mp3, .wav, .wma, or flac. Please query before sending in other formats. If you can't get us the work via email, just send an email and let us know, and we can find another way. We don't know how long it will take to get back to you on your submissions, just be cool. We can't pay you anything for your work. All work that appears in the magazine will be available for download from the magazine's site under the Creative Commons Attribution Non-commercial Share Alike license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0/); if you are not comfortable with making your work available in that way, let us know and we can probably work something out.

((audience)) is seeking statements of interest and submissions of completed works for inclusion in the ((audience)) festival in Syracuse, NY this September. Sound artists, electronic musicians and new media artists are invited to submit works and proposals in the following categories: Live Performance for 5.1 diffusion; Cinema-in-the-Dark; Film/Video works.

((audience)) is a nomadic biennial festival of sound art, organized by Alexis Bhagat and Lauren Rosati. The centerpiece of ((audience09)) is a 2.5 hour program of 5.1 surround sound works (with no visual accompaniment) by seven international artists, to be presented in pitch black cinema halls. ((audience)) promotes the exploration of the cinema as a concert hall for the 21st century. Performances, lectures, radio broadcasts and other events are organized on a city-by-city basis. Our upstate New York ((audience09)) festival is being organized in association with the Red House Gallery in Syracuse, NY and will take place from September 17-September 27, 2009.

*Live Performance for 5.1 Diffusion*

We primarily seek statements of interest and performance proposals from artists who have experimented with 5.1 diffusion. Performers working with multichannel diffusion other than 5.1 are also invited to submit. Genres could include: extended vocal work, computer music, electroacoustic music, noise, phonographic collage or manipulation. Performance proposals and statements of interest must include video documentation of relevant past performances on DVD. Please also include a CV or resume, artist statement and full contact information. Students and emerging artists are especially encouraged to apply for the performance category.

*Cinema-in-the-Dark*

We seek 5.1 surround and stereo works which are “cinematic,” in any way that artists interpret that term. We are especially interested in narrative, poetic or dramatic works that experiment with audio spatialization or in musical works that play with familiar conventions of cinema sound. 5.1 submissions are preferred. 5.1 submissions will also be considered for inclusion in the ((audience11)) main program. Stereo works may be also submitted, and will be considered for broadcast on Red House Art Radio during the ((audience09)) festival. Please send both a playable and raw data CD/DVD. Please also include a CV or resume, artist statement, full contact information. Ordinary audio cd, DVD-V with black screen, or DVD-A. You must also send uncompressed, 24-bit audio. Distinct mono tracks, with channel info in the filename, are preferred. OMF files or Protools 7 session files are also acceptable.

*Film/Video*

We seek completed film and video works with compelling 5.1 surround soundtracks. Film and video works under 30min are preferred will be considered for screening at the Red House Gallery Theater on September 26 during ((audience09)). Longer works may be considered for later screening. DVD, production credits, distributor information (if relevant), CV or biographies of sound editor/designer, full contact information.

Send to:
((audience))
c/o Nadalex
39 Avenue A - #103
New York, NY 10009

Your submission or statement should be received by July 10, 2009. Submission materials will not be returned. Late submissions will be accepted. Please send a statement via email by July 10, if you are mailing a late submission. E-mail inquiries may be sent to curators@au.dience.org.

Web Radio Hits the Road
washington post

Pandora Founder Tim Westergren Sits With Billboard For An Extended Q&A
billboard

Microsoft makes Zune HD Official
slipperybrick

Music Labels Cut Friendlier Deals With Start-Ups
nytimes

Pandora Cries Foul on PRS
digital music news

Anna Friz moderated this panel with Kristen Roos, Emmanual Madan, and Hank Bull, about radio work in a sited experience. Madan spoke first about "radioland," that magical place radio DJs are always speaking to or at. Bull looked for radio emanating from the body, and told stories about The Western Front's pirate radio history. Madan and Friz explained their project, "The Joy Channel," that explored radio in the future when emotions are transmitted.

Gregory Whitehead gave the keynote presentation to kick off day two of the "Radio Without Boundaries" conference, and excrement was the theme. After warming up the crowd with a few vocal exercises, his, uh, disembodied voice exposed the current excremental culture through Laura Vitale's hilarious Mariah Carey rendering, with a spy numbers station as the main metaphor for the cultural toilet, or William S. Burroughs talking orifice. As always, Whitehead provides fascinating radio art for thought. The discussion afterwards, though slow to percolate, got going with a lively discussion of what part, if any, of the self is transmitted, with Anna Friz and Whitehead disagreeing slightly, and Brandon LaBelle and Christophe Migone adding much to the discussion.

The final panel of this afternoon at "Radio Without Boundaries" conference was "Soundscapes of the imagination: the grey area between fact and fiction" moderated by Andra McCartney with Gregory Whitehead, Helene Prevost, and Alessandro Bosetti. This turned into the most lively session, actually argumentative, with Whitehead playing his usual contrarian role, challenging the status quo. At first the panel equated Orson Welles with George Bush as hoax-mongers (I reminded them that Welles' repeatedly announced that "The War of the Worlds" was a radio play during the broadcast). Whitehead then asked, "Where is the protest art," and some in the audience argued back that it was out there. We were all way off topic at this point (Whitehead's Twitter rant was hilarious). But it was engaging radio. Soundscapes haven't been mentioned in 30 minutes. Authenticity became the topic. "The master narratives are still unfolding," Whitehead said. "I am very interested in the productive role of dead air in that scenario," Anna Friz said, in a response of sorts.

free103point9 Transmission Artist Anna Friz led the next panel at "Radio Without Boundaries, "Radio that reflects community." Since free103point9 is in the process of launching WGXC, a community radio station for Greene and Columbia counties in New York, this panel is of particular interest here. Victoria Fenner, Marian van der Zon, and Kevin Matthews were also on the panel. The panel, though, just trotted out tried and true-isms. Yes, it is important to build community for a community radio station. That seems part of the term "community radio station." Sure, some community radio stations forget that mission. Only Matthews made the good point that these community radio stations need to become multi-media groups that provide not just audio, but video, blogging, photography, and other media. Otherwise, this panel was preaching to the converted. Yes, a very dissapointing panel, that shed little new light on community radio.

Chris Brookes Skyped in his workshop, "Oh, Shut Up! Who needs a narrator anyway?" Chris Brookes' radio features have have been broadcast around the world. He has directed and produced documentaries for Canadian network television, is a published author and playwright, and has taught radio storytelling at festivals and workshops across North America and Europe. Brookes, and the group, seemed to think that there always is a narrator (even when it is not the voice of God), and that the narrator should stand out of the way of the "action" as much as possible. He battled some Skype skipping, but was an engaging, uh, narrator. "Author" might be a better term, one audience member said. And the amount of narration depends on the context, whether it is a news report, or an artistic work.

Andra McCartney is a multimedia soundscape artist, composer, performer and poet. Currently she is working on 'Soundwalking Home', a series of soundwalks through neighborhoods in which she has lived, and a soundscape documenting the Lachine Canal region, near Montreal. McCartney's installations have been shown at Maid in Cyberspace Encore (Montreal), KAAI Modern Fuel Gallery (Kingston, Ontario), miXing Women In Sound Art Festival (Chicago), The Kitchen ... Her writings have been published in Leonardo Music Journal, MusicWorks ... She has collaborated with visual artist P.S. Moore, championed the work of soundscape composer Hildegard Westerkamp, and she is actively involved with the World Forum for Acoustic Ecology. She lives in Montreal and is teaches at Concordia University, Montreal.

McCartney talked about her work with soundscapes, with lots of recordings of bells, trains, boats. She prefers in-ear binaural mics, although occasionally uses a hand-held stereo mic when she wants to make it clear to folks she is recording.

free103point9 is live in Toronto today and tomorrow from Deep Wireless' "Radio Without Boundaries" conference. You can tune in at www.free103point9.org or by pasting http://comm.free103point9.org:8000/deepwireless.mp3.m3u into your computer's media player.

I will be blogging throughout the conference, and Nick van der Kolk, Justin Grotelueschen, Andrea Silenzi and Nadene Thériault-Copeland are also blogging "Radio Without Boundaries" on the Transom blog. They have photos too!

Brandon LaBelle got things started this morning with a keynote address called "Instances of radiophonic panic, or towards a theory of transmission." He used a subtle voice to describe a panic radio situation, to great effect. The conversation afterwards, which drew a bit on Orson Welles' "The War of the Worlds" and other "panic broadcasts got me thinking: listening to the radio during a panic, one is both more attentive -- I need to know! -- and less -- I trust everything!

Andra McCartney is starting her "Radio Soundscapes" presentation now. I will post more later.

WORLD'S FIRST COMMERCIAL 4G/LTE SITE UNVEILED IN SWEDEN IN 2010
WiMAX has competition

The Facebook for Ham Radio
http://www.73s.org/

Indie Labels Experience A Major Renaissance Amidst The Upheaval
hypebot

Hulu's first live concert could be tip of the iceberg
arstechnica

Lawyer: RIAA must pay back all $100M it has collected
arstechnica

House Judiciary Committee Passes Modified Performance Tax
Broadcast Law Blog

Cellphone Makers Hope for a Blockbuster Summer
nytimes

Metropolitan Talent Co-CEO Explains CMJ Merger
billboard

Clearwire and Cisco Partner to Deliver 4G WiMAX Services
WiMAX blog

Mogulus Renamed Livestream
dailywireless.org

Pandora One
techcrunch

When ‘Local’ Makes It Big
nytimes

How do YOU listen to Internet Radio in Your Car?
radio.about.com

The rebirth of news
the economist

Stats on Facebook, MySpace, and Twitter
McVay New Media

From John Young on Boing Boing:

Back in 2007, you posted a link to the West Chester (PA) Guerilla Drive-In, where we project 16MM movies at secret locations from the sidecar of my 1977 BMW motorcycle. The kit-built AM transmitter in the photo you posted is the MacGuffin, a secret AM transmitter in a waterproof case hidden somewhere in the area, and broadcasting around the clock. In order to find out where movies are going to be shown, you have to find the broadcast, tune in, and discover the secret access code.

This year, the audio for the AM broadcast includes a freshly-recorded cover of "Brazil", which you will probably remember as the soundtrack for the Ministry of Information in Terry Gilliam's awesome 1985 movie. You can see the MacGuffin and hear the first bit of the secret message on the Guerilla Drive-In website.

free103point9 has launched its third online radio web stream. WGXC Online Radio is on around the clock playing recordings from bands from Greene and Columbia Counties in upstate New York, and interviews with local personalities and politicians, and other sound recordings. Also occasional live events from throughout the two counties. Tune in at www.WGXC.org.

Local radio stations fear affect of music industry fees
Indiana Gazette

More static for DJs at Clear Channel
nctimes

Webcasters Want Royalty Reduction
nationaljournal.com

iPhone/iPod touch prescribed to MU journalism students
Arstechnica

Radio receiver chips turn into a $100 million payoff for Silicon Labs
statesman.com

Sirius XM sticks it to subscribers
cnet

AT&T Buys Verizon Assets for $2.35B
dailywireless

The end of the age of free
the guardian

Rural America not ready for broadband? Hogwash, say ISPs
arstechnica

Byrne turns venue into instrument
bbc

CBS & Last.fm Consolidate Online Radio Units
hypebot

Quite Possibly the Best Phone/Web Commercial Ever
http://www.pomegranatephone.com/

The iPhone Is Accelerating Music Sales For Pandora
washington post

Sirius XM Radio Reports First-Ever Drop in Subscribers
rolling stone

RealNetworks Music Revenues Climb 16%
billboard

NYC Indymedia has a leaked memo from Grace Aaron, Chair of the Pacifica National Board, saying LaVarn Williams is the new WBAI general manager, and Anthony Riddle is being asked to step down from GM to become Development Director in the Pacifica national office.