From Eliot Van Buskirk in Wired:

In the US, television and terrestrial radio stations don't have to pay statutory royalties to artists and labels, the way net radio, satellite, and cable stations do.

Last Thursday, July 19th -- the same day SoundExchange and webcasters met with Congress to try to hash out fair royalty rates for webcasters -- President George W. Bush indicated to attendees of a speech at the Gaylord Opryland Resort and Convention Center in Nashville, Tennessee, that he hadn't exactly been following those proceedings.

From an official press release from Bush's Press Secretary:

Question: Mr. President, music is one of our largest exports the country has. Currently, every country in the world -- except China, Iran, North Korea, Rwanda and the United States -- pay a statutory royalty to the performing artists for radio and television air play. Would your administration consider changing our laws to align it with the rest of the world?

The President: Help. (Laughter.) Maybe you've never had a President say this -- I have, like, no earthly idea what you're talking about. (Laughter and applause.) Sounds like we're keeping interesting company, you know? (Laughter.)

Look, I'll give you the old classic: contact my office, will you? (Laughter.) I really don't -- I'm totally out of my lane. I like listening to country music, if that helps. (Laughter.)

From Michael Arrington in Tech Crunch:

I was very pleased to see Google publicly wade into the upcoming FCC auctions for the 700MHz spectrum that will occur early next year. Should all go well, the new spectrum could be used to create a new open-access wireless broadband “pipe” into people’s homes and devices. If things go less well, the existing wireless giants would buy the spectrum and impose similar usage restrictions that exist on cellular networks in the U.S. today, putting us further behind Europe and Asia.

CEO Eric Schmidt sent a letter to FCC Chairman Kevin Martin stating that they would commit to bid at least $4.6 billion in the auctions if four key platform rules are adopted. These rules will define what types of services the winner could offer, and would require third party access to the bandwidth:

Open applications: Consumers should be able to download and utilize any software applications, content, or services they desire;
Open devices: Consumers should be able to utilize a handheld communications device with whatever wireless network they prefer;
Open services: Third parties (resellers) should be able to acquire wireless services from a 700 MHz licensee on a wholesale basis, based on reasonably nondiscriminatory commercial terms; and
Open networks: Third parties (like internet service providers) should be able to interconnect at any technically feasible point in a 700 MHz licensee’s wireless network.
Given the sorry state of the mobile landscape in the U.S., I’d expect the FCC to adopt these pro-consumer rules without any fuss. But the incumbent players, including AT&T and Verizon, are saying they are opposed to open access and may not participate if these rules are adopted. Google’s public move was made to let the FCC (and the public) know that there are companies very happy to bid in an open-access world.

AT&T’s response to Google’s letter was breathtaking in its audacity:

Not satisfied with a compromise proposal from Chairman Martin that meets most of its conditions, Google has now delivered an all or nothing ultimatum to the U.S. Government, insisting that every single one of their conditions “must” be met or they will not participate in the spectrum auction. Google is demanding the Government stack the deck in its favor, limit competing bids, and effectively force wireless carriers to alter their business models to Google’s liking. We would repeat that Google should put up or shut up— they can bid and enter the wireless market with any business model they prefer, then let consumers decide which model they like best.

For anyone who doesn’t look too closely at the issue, AT&T’s response seems very reasonable: keep government regulation out of the spectrum let the market decide which services win. But that isn’t really what would happen at all. If fewer government restrictions are placed on the bandwidth the auction winners will be able to extract more profits at the expense of competitors and consumers. So naturally they don’t want to see open access rules like those recommended by Google. The incumbents also don’t want to see Google play in their sandbox and bidding against them - so they have yet another reason to oppose their proposal.

The FCC has competing goals of maximizing revenue from the auction (suggesting less regulation) and protecting the public (suggesting more rules to force competition). Having open access requirements like those suggested by Google will spur competition and grow an economy around this spectrum. It will also put commercial pressure on mobile operators and broadband companies to reduce the restrictions they have on current broadband and mobile services.

Google isn’t always not evil, but in this case they are going to bat for all of us against some players with pretty bad history when it comes to offering consumer products. I’m behind them on this. And to the FCC: please learn from past mistakes, ignore the lobbyists this time, and do what is in the best interests of the public.

From David Pescovitz in BoingBoing:

Developed in the 1940s, Stratovision was a system to rebroadcast TV and FM radio signals via transmitters mounted on airplanes. Westinghouse radar engineer Charles E. Nobles invented the technology to bring media to "small town and farm homes" that he believed terrestrial transmitters atop city buildings couldn't reach. A 1948 demonstration fueled hype that Stratovision had the potential to transform media deliver. Two years later though, it was obsolete. From Air & Space Smithsonian:

(On June 23, 2948, a) B-29, orbiting 25,000 feet above Pittsburgh, rebroadcast the Republican convention directly from WMAR-TV in Baltimore, 9 to 10 p.m. EDT. The bomber was outfitted with an eight-foot mast on its vertical stabilizer to receive programs; the signal was sent from the antenna to the cabin, and on to the broadcast antenna. The antenna, stored horizontally in the bomb bay, projected 28 feet down when operating.

After the convention transmission, Martin and Westinghouse representatives trumpeted Stratovision’s future. They foresaw a nationwide Stratovision network, with programs beamed from one airplane to the next. Fourteen airplanes could bring TV and FM radio to 78 percent of the population; a comparable ground installation network would require more than 100 relay points, Westinghouse estimated. A fleet of 60 Martin 202 airliners would suffice...

In 1949, AT&T set up a coaxial cable network to connect the East Coast with the Midwest, largely through underground wiring. Westinghouse dropped Stratovision in 1950.

From Farhad Manjoo in Salon:

Late last week SoundExchange, the recording-industry group that collects royalties from Internet radio stations, agreed to limit one key part of the new fees that threatened to shut down a great many webcasters. But now it seems that SoundExchange's benevolence came at a price: in exchange for reducing fees, the recording industry wants webcasters to prevent listeners from copying the music they get through Internet radio -- despite the fact that such copying may be perfectly legal.

SoundExchange had previously asked radio stations for $500 for each channel of music that they send out to listeners, a fee that would have added up to more than a billion dollars for the industry. On Friday, the royalty group agreed to cap the amount at $50,000 per webcaster. The fee cap all but saved Internet radio from certain death.

As Ars Technica points out, though, SoundExchange says in a press release that it will only extend the deal to webcasters who "work to stop users from engaging in 'stream ripping' -- turning Internet radio performances into a digital music library."

Stream ripping refers to the practice of recording songs from an Internet feed. Several programs -- StationRipper, RadioLover, Streamripper, among others -- make this a pretty easy process. Once your record a song from an Internet radio channel, you can play it like any other MP3, in any order you choose, without logging back in to the webcaster's stream. Considering how easy that sounds, some industry observers have speculated that people who were scared off by file sharing may be moving to stream ripping as an alternative source of free music online.

But there isn't much firm data about the practice. The recording industry has trouble estimating how many music files are traded illegally online, but recording a Web radio stream, like recording a show on TiVo, occurs off the network, in the privacy of your own computer. And even if stream ripping is widespread, it's not clear what radio stations can do to stop it. Stream rippers work by capturing the music going straight to your PC's speakers, in much the same way that your TiVo or your VCR copies video as it flies between your cable box and your TV. Copy-protection programs simply can't stop this sort of copying.

And though legal opinion is unsettled on the question, many copyright experts argue that stream ripping, like recording TV shows on your VCR, is legal. All you're doing is "time shifting" -- recording something at Time A to play back (for yourself) at Time B.

Like the music industry, Web radio stations aren't big fans of stream ripping. They'd rather have you come back to their site each time you want to listen to music. But many also stay away from the main methods to combat ripping -- webcasting at a lower bitrate, mixing promos and jingles over the music, crossfading songs so they don't start and end cleanly.

You have to wonder if the recording the industry -- now that it's got webcasters locked in negotiations for their future -- will have any trouble imposing such reduced-quality streams.

From a press release from Nydia M. VelÃzquez:

Last night, Chairwoman of the Committee on Small Business, Nydia M. VelÃzquez and Ranking Member Steve Chabot came together to introduce bi-partisan legislation in a final attempt to postpone the implementation of new royalty rates for webcasters and allow additional time to find a solution. The new rates put into place by the Copyright Royalty Board (CRB), are scheduled to go into effect this Sunday, July 15 and many caution that their implementation will mean the end of the industry for Internet radio. Efforts to reach a compromise have not yet been successful, and this legislation, HR 3015, would delay implementation of the rate increase by 60 days, allowing continued negotiation so a satisfactory arrangement can be reached.

"We are coming down to the wire on this issue, and as the royalty rates currently stand, I am concerned that webcasters and musicians alike will be harmed, perhaps even irreparably," said Chairwoman Velázquez. "There has not yet been an agreement reached that provides fair compensation to artists while allowing broadcasters to stay on the air without excessive fees. I urge my colleagues to support this bill to allow an opportunity for that compromise to be reached."

H.R. 3015 would postpone the implementation of the CRB decision for two months, allowing internet broadcasters and the music industry more time to come to a suitable compromise. Under the current fee structure, firms pay a percentage of their revenue, a system beneficial to small companies with lower profit margins. The new regulations would designate a flat fee that must be paid each time a song is played. For many small broadcasters, this would drastically increase their costs and some industry insiders have projected that royalty payments will more than double. The new fee system will also cover all broadcasts since January 1, 2006, leaving webcasters open to high back payments and possible legal action for unauthorized public performance. H.R. 3015 would maintain the current revenue based system for 60 days past the July 15 deadline, during which time, a more equitable system can be agreed upon. VelÃzquez and Chabot sent letters to the Chair and Ranking Member of the House Judiciary Committee, urging them to adopt this legislation. A letter was also sent to Sound Exchange and the Digital Media Association advising the groups to use the 60 days to make earnest negotiations.

"The July 15 implementation date of the CRB's ruling is making on-going negotiations more challenging," said Congressman Chabot. "During last month's Small Business Committee hearing on this issue, there was a consensus among the Committee Members that it would be preferable to have this matter resolved between the parties. This legislation creates a positive environment to encourage continued dialogue and negotiation."

The Committee held a hearing on June 28 to hear testimony on the impact the CRB decision will have on internet broadcasters, musicians and record labels. Both sides of the issue came to the table and the consensus was that fair compensation to musicians was crucial, but that the royalties as they currently stand could be prohibitively expensive for small internet broadcasters. Additionally, independent musicians voiced there support for internet radio, citing its promotional value,
as most terrestrial radio stations limit their broadcasts to mainstream
artists.

"We must find a solution that will satisfy both sides of this issue, and a little more time may be all that is necessary," Chairwoman VelÃzquez said. "It is critical that we take steps to ensure that small internet webcasters continue to thrive."

Several reports on the New York Radio Message Board indicate there is a microcasting station calling itself "Lincoln 101.5 Radio" operating on 101.5-FM in New York City. Other reports have 88.9 Mhz (covering WSIA) & 90.5 Mhz, in Spring Valley Ney York and at 90.9 theres an orthodox Jewish pirate from Brooklyn. I can hear the station with a weak signal in my car all along the western bank of the Hudson in New jersey & into NYC. The two Creole operations at 88.9 & 90.5 are 24/7 stereo stations now.

From Electronic Frontier Foundation:

Negotiations on the proposed WIPO Broadcasting Treaty ended on Friday with some welcome news. WIPO Member States agreed to postpone the high-level intergovernmental Diplomatic Conference at which the draft treaty could have been adopted, and have moved discussions back to regular committee meetings, down a notch from the last two "Special Session" meetings.

The Diplomatic Conference had been scheduled to take place in November 2007. It has now been postponed indefinitely until Member States reach agreement on the objectives, specific scope and object of protection of the proposed treaty. Given the vast differences between Member States' positions that emerged this week on core parts of the treaty, agreement does not look likely in the near future. Although the treaty is still on WIPO's agenda and by no means dead, the practical effect of today's decision is that it is no longer on the fast track. That's good news indeed for the Internet Community, including the over 1500 podcasters who signed an Open Letter to WIPO expressing concern about the treaty, which EFF delivered to WIPO this week. Member States refused to set a date for a diplomatic conference. They rejected proposals from the WIPO Copyright Committee Chair, Mr. Jukka Liedes, to postpone the diplomatic conference to November/December 2008, to convene a further "Special Session" of the WIPO Copyright Committee focused on finalizing the treaty, and to create a "modern framework" for "webcasting organizations". Instead, it was agreed that the subject of protection of broadcasting and cablecasting organizations would stay on the agenda and be discussed in regular sessions of the WIPO Standing Committee on Copyright and Related Rights. After the jump we have the full text of the conclusions of the meeting, together with notes from today's meeting.

Before a Diplomatic Conference can be convened, Member States must reach agreement on the core elements of a treaty - the objectives, specific scope and object of protection. While this week's informal session discussions may have helped clarify Member States' positions, it does not seem to have brought them closer. There is widespread agreement amongst many Member States, public interest NGOs. libraries and the tech industry that any treaty must focus on the issue of signal theft and not the creation of exclusive rights that will harm those communities. However, it's equally clear from this week that broadcasters will not settle for anything other than exclusive rights.

In the meantime, apart from pulling the plug on a diplomatic conference that seemed doomed for failure, as the delegate of India and Jamie Love of Knowledge Ecology International have both noted, today's decision also provides a much-needed opportunity for WIPO to start focusing on other initiatives, such as facilitating access to knowledge, evaluating the impact of legally-enforced technological protection measures on exceptions and limitations, and Chile's 2004 proposal for mandatory exceptions and limitations to copyright law for education, the disabled and libraries and archives. Now that would be good news indeed.
June 22, 2007.

From Reclaim the Media:

Senators Maria Cantwell and John McCain have introduced a Senate bill to authorize hundreds of local, noncommercial Low Power FM radio stations to communities across the country. A companion bill was introduced in the House. The Local Community Radio Act of 2007 would remove the artificial restrictions imposed on LPFM by a 2000 law passed at the urging of corporate radio giants and NPR, claiming that small community stations would interfere with the signals of larger stations. While these claims were debunked by a taxpayer-funded study in 2002, Congress has not yet acted on those results - denying many communities the opportunity to apply for LPFM stations.

If passed, this bill will pave the way for educational groups, nonprofits, unions, schools and local governments to launch new local radio stations across the country. Get additional details from the Prometheus Radio Project, and express your support for local radio by signing the online petition at ExpandLPFM.org.

Bipartisan legislation was introduced today in both the House and Senate that would bring hundreds of local, Low Power FM (LPFM) radio stations to cities and suburbs across the country.

On a national press call this morning, the Indigo Girls joined religious groups, community radio broadcasters and public interest advocates in support of the "Local Community Radio Act of 2007" sponsored by Reps. Mike Doyle (D-Penn.) and Lee Terry (R-Neb.) in the House, and Sens. Maria Cantwell (D-Wash.) and John McCain (R-Ariz.) in the Senate.

"Radio should reflect the vibrant diversity of music, points of view and news in our communities, not just the narrow content a few large radio conglomerates deem profitable," said Emily Saliers of the Indigo Girls. "The Local Community Radio Act can make this idea a reality and deserves the support of Congress and community groups across the country."

On the call, the House co-sponsors of the Local Community Radio Act explained the importance of the legislation.

"Diverse, informative, thought-provoking, locally oriented programming has been dramatically restricted across the country by the current federal laws governing the separation between broadcast frequencies," Congressman Mike Doyle said. "Enactment of this legislation would improve the quality of life in communities across the country by providing new and different programming -- and especially programming addressing local interests and events -- to these communities."

"I really believe Low Power Radio has the potential to make communities stronger," Congressman Lee Terry said. "Congress should be expanding the forums for our local communities to communicate. There are several groups in the Omaha area that want to apply for an LPFM station, and that s why I am working to push this legislation forward. I encourage my colleagues to jump on board and get more local stations on the air."

In response to the introduction of the Local Community Radio Act, FCC Commissioner Jonathan Adelstein said: "Localism and diversity have always been at the heart of radio. Many Low Power FM stations across America reflect the best of these traditions and have flourished despite existing interference standards. As I've traveled throughout this country, I've seen local churches, schools and other community-based organizations use low power stations to broadcast locally relevant news, information and music. That's the essence of radio, and we should do all we can to promote it."

LPFM stations are community-based, noncommercial radio stations that broadcast to neighborhoods and small towns. LPFM licenses make owning a radio station possible for churches, schools, labor unions and other community groups that best understand the needs of their local communities.

"The founders of WRYR built our station to help educate our community, promote its uniqueness, and assist in fighting sprawl along the shores of the Chesapeake Bay," said WRYR-LP founder Mike Shay. "The station has focused people in our area to care even more about local businesses and environmental issues. Because of Low Power FM radio, we are more politically active, caring, and engaged, which has enabled us to make a difference in our community."

LPFM stations have also been essential in times of crisis. During Hurricane Katrina, LPFM stations in the Gulf Coast region stayed on the air and provided their neighbors with lifesaving information.

"Our low power station helped many people find shelter and restart their lives after Hurricanes Katrina and Rita," said John Freeman, director of the Southern Development Foundation and founder of Louisiana's KOCZ-LP, Opelousas Community Zydeco Radio. "Folks knew to listen to us during the storm, and to work with us and our community to rebuild, because our station was the strongest source of Zydeco music in the town where it was founded. Opelousas is relying on KOCZ for church services on Sunday, youth hip-hop programming, Gospel, health information, and more. Low Power FM is helping our community to grow."

In 2000, Congress authorized the FCC to issue LPFM licenses. But legislators attached an unnecessary rule that limited LPFM stations to rural areas. Since then, thousands who submitted applications with the FCC to operate their own stations have been blocked.

"Effective and meaningful communication vehicles are a must for cities like Omaha," said Tim Clark, president of the 100 Black Men of Omaha Chapter, an organization that has been unable to obtain an LPFM license. "The need for Low Power FM radio stations for inner cities is so important when it comes to creating a sense of community and purpose, and uplifting a people to move to action. With so many commercially driven stations mostly driven by the bottom line, the community does not have a voice -- no way to mobilize the community to action. New community Low Power FM stations will give an opportunity for people to have a greater appreciation for their history, cultural enrichment and community pride."

Since 2000, the FCC has awarded more than 800 LPFM licenses to church groups, schools and civil rights organizations. The bills introduced today would authorize the FCC to license hundreds -- if not thousands -- of new LPFM stations in cities, towns and suburbs across the country.

"We ve been building radio stations that strengthen local music and culture, give families access to their local governments, help diverse communities get on the air, and save lives -- in rural communities," said Hannah Sassaman, organizer with Prometheus Radio Project, a group that helps set up community radio stations. "We applaud Congressman Doyle and Congressman Terry for their great vision in bringing this vital service to America's cities."

"Radio consolidation has shrunk playlists and knocked whole genres of music such as jazz and bluegrass off the commercial dial," said Future of Music Coalition s Policy Director Michael Bracy. "The Local Community Radio Act holds the promise to return radio to what made it great: cutting edge music, diverse genres and voices, and local, community-based programming. This is something Congress should have done a long time ago."

In 2003, the FCC released a $2 million, taxpayer-funded study -- known as the "MITRE Study" -- which unequivocally found that increasing the number of LPFM stations would not cause significant interference. The FCC urged Congress to repeal the restrictions it had placed on licensing LPFM stations. But no action has been taken.

"The number of churches that could have been granted LPFM licenses could have been beyond 500 had the FCC been allowed to accept applications from more communities," said Dr. Ken Bowles, general manager of Midwest Christian Media and founder of KHIS-LP in Cape Girardeau, Mo. "The MITRE study was done at the direction of Congress. Congress now ha
s an opportunity to remove the ill-advised ban and allow Christian low power broadcasting to flourish -- bringing new formats and localization to urban areas."

LPFM stations have been instrumental in allowing religious groups to broadcast their church services, reaching new audiences and people who are unable to leave their homes.

"We believe it is the responsibility of the church to foster public dialogue about matters that affect the quality of life of people in local communities. It is our experience that Low Power FM radio is more responsive to this dialogue and serves the community more effectively than corporations far removed from local concerns," said Rev. Larry Hollon, chief executive of United Methodist Communications.

"The power to speak is the power to persuade, and thus the power to change the world," said Cheryl Leanza, managing director of the United Church of Christ Office of Communication, Inc. "Low Power Radio is about giving many people voice who have been voiceless and powerless. The United Church of Christ is excited that this legislation will enable more community groups and churches to bring their voices to the airwaves."

The 1996 Telecommunications Act dramatically increased media consolidation - and decreased media diversity. LPFM stations provide opportunities for people of color and women to run local radio stations and for local groups to address issues affecting their community.

"Media consolidation has made it extremely difficult for women and people of color to become radio station owners," said Joe Torres, government relations manager of Free Press. "People of color own just 7.7 percent of all full-power radio stations and women own less than 6 percent. This important legislation would provide more people of color and women with opportunities they are denied in the commercial sector."

"Consumers Union strongly supports this legislation to provide more creative opportunities for communities to be heard in what has become a very consolidated radio marketplace," said Gene Kimmelman, vice president of federal and international affairs at Consumers Union.

"We are extremely pleased to see Congress moving forward legislation to bring more LPFM radio stations to communities throughout the country," said Parul Desai, assistant director of Media Access Project. "LPFM stations serve the needs of the local community, which are often neglected by commercial broadcasters. Our hope is that Congress acts quickly on this legislation so that constituents can begin to reap the benefits of a local voice in their community."

"Common Cause urges members of Congress to support the Low Power FM bill, said Lauren Coletta, senior director of media programs at Common Cause. Low Power FM stations are organized by local people to serve their communities in unique ways that commercial broadcasters are unwilling to do."

"In California, we've seen the value of radio stations that are local and community-driven," said Jeff Perlstein, executive director of Media Alliance. "It's high time Congress put these public resources -- these radio frequencies -- to work for the public."

"LPFM is a low-cost, high-democracy form of community media, said Anthony Riddle, executive director of Alliance for Community Media. "There ought to be a way for every community with the will and an idea to have its own voice. Congressmen Doyle and Terry shouldn't just be applauded-- they should be joined by every other member in supporting this eloquent and simple ideal."

"While other forms of media are consolidated and homogenous, Low Power FM remains an innovative outlet for local and diverse voices," said Amina Fazullah, staff attorney for U.S. PIRG. "This legislation is a great step forward towards a responsive media that serves citizens and not the corporate interest."

From Kate Gilman, Press Secretary, House Small Business Committee, Majority Staff Chairwoman, Nydia M. Velázquez, NY-12:

The House Committee on Small Business will hold a hearing June 28 titled "Assessing the Impact of the Copyright Royalty Board Decision to Increase Royalty Rates on Recording Artists and Webcasters." Small Webcasters that provide daily music entertainment to individuals nationwide will be at risk of going silent on July 15, after an increase in royalty rates from the Copyright Royalty Board (CRB) comes into effect.

The hearing will examine the decision to raise rates, the impact it will have on Internet Radio, and the challenges of providing fair compensation for copyright owners while maintaining a business environment that allow small Webcasters to thrive. The committee will hear testimony from various Internet Radio outlets, as well as music artists that stand on both sides of the issue.

*Thursday, June 28, 10 a.m. at 2360 Rayburn House Office Building, Washington D.C.

From Cory Doctorow in Boing Boing:

The National Association of Broadcasters of America has broken its own by-laws and trampled the position of NPR and PBS, endorsing a controversial policy at the United Nations.

This week, the UN's World Intellectual Property Organization is holding a critical debate on the "Broadcast Treaty." This treaty would establish a new copyright-like right, but whereas copyright goes to people who make creative works, Broadcast Rights go to companies that broadcast other people's copyrighted works. The Broadcast Right isn't subject to the same fair use limits as copyright, which means that even if copyright lets you record a broadcast for criticism or parody, you will need to separately get an exemption under the Broadcast Right. More gravely, if means that if you license your work under Creative Commons, the people who distribute the files or air the program can overrule your generosity and insist that your fans not copy your work.

This treaty threatens the Internet as we know it. Novel services like YouTube and novel practice like podcasting would not exist today if this treaty was already implemented.

The General Assembly of WIPO has ordered Jukka Liedes, the chairman of the relevant committee to cut this out, instructing him to oversee a much narrower treaty that will block "theft of signals" (hacking free cable or satellite), while leaving all this other business off. The chairman has gone rogue, ignoring the direction of the Assembly and producing a draft that's even worse than the previous draft.

The Chairman isn't the only one who's gone rogue, though: the National Association of Broadcasters of America has been lobbying hard all week for the treaty. One problem: PBS and NPR -- members of NABA -- oppose the treaty and have not authorized the association to lobby for this measure.

"National Public Radio and the Public Broadcasting Service do not support a Diplomatic Conference to adopt a treaty based on the April 20, 2007 non-paper because they do not believe the treaty provides adequate protection for the fair use of broadcast and cablecast matter for newsgathering and other purposes. Bell ExpressVu does not support a Diplomatic Conference because it believes the proposed exclusive retransmission right exceeds what is necessary to prevent signal piracy or protect investment and does not contain a reservation that would permit a signatory to limit or not apply the application of the retransmission right."

Call for Papers: Canadian Journal of Communication
Special Issue on: Wireless Technologies, Mobile Practices
Mobile wireless devices such as handheld pdas, cellular telephones, and portable computers are part of a changing landscape of communications and culture. In the last decade alone, for instance, the use of cell phones has increased fourfold in Canada signaling a remarkable shift in the telecommunications industry, the convergence of a number of technologies onto a single platform, and new ways of conducting person-to-person communication and creating community. In addition to these devices, Wi-Fi networks, Bluetooth, WANS, and GPS comprise integrated segments of the new infrastructure of the so-called wireless world as well as an emergent vocabulary for citizens and consumers. The Canadian Journal of Communication invites submissions, in English or in French, for a forthcoming special issue on mobile communications and wireless technologies. We are interested in innovative, critical approaches that decipher a range of mobile technologies and practices in wireless contexts. Possible themes include:
Everyday uses: sharing our lives via the mobile (text, voice, video)
Civic engagement, activism and mobile technologies
Wireless services and emergency communication
Privacy, surveillance and mobile phones
Community Wireless Networks
Policy: CRTC regulations and spectrum policy
Mobility, Labour: new conditions of work
Shifting notions of space, place and time in a mobile world
Rhetoric and discourses on mobility and wireless worlds
Art, design and mobile technologies
Mobile genres and cellular convergence
Global and international perspectives on mobile technologies

Full-length papers (@ 7000-8000 words) should be submitted electronically following the guidelines laid out on the CJC submissions website (http://www.cjc-online.ca/submissions.php). Make sure to write in all caps "MOBILE" in the Comments to the Editor field, and to include it on the cover page of your article as well. Do not include your name on the cover page. Deadline for papers is Sept. 1, 2007. Papers selected by the editors will then be sent for peer review for final decision.

New York state assembly legislators "A. LATIMER, GALEF, AUBERTINE" introduced a bill (A1214) sponsored by "M. of A. BOYLAND, CLARK, DelMONTE, D. GORDON, GRANNIS, McENENY, MILLMAN, PHEFFER," according to the New York State Assembly web site, that would make a person convicted of unauthorized radio transmission guilty of a class D felony, "punishable by imprisonment and a fine in the amount of not less than $10,000.00." A version passed the New York State Senate in 2006 (S.7074/A.9647-A); another has been introduced by Volker this year.

Assemblyperson Pheffer also wants to enact the "radio frequency identification right to know act" (A222) which would, "require retail mercantile establishments to disclose the use of RFID devices." Pheffer also has introduced two other RFID bills, A225B and A261. One establishes a task force on the privacy implications of radio frequency identification technology and the other requires the labeling of retail products or packages containing a radio frequency identification tag and provides for enforcement by the attorney general.

Tune in or turn out to Wave Farm events this summer

July 7: Tune (Out)))side
Over 30 performers playing into FM transmitters

July 21: Summer Winds
Artists using air or wind in performances.

Aug. 3-5: Campfire Sounds
Weekend avant-folk festival with camping.

Aug. 25: Animals
Performers using "animals" as a theme.

Oct. 13: Radio Festival
Unique radio art performances.


At all performances:

Wave Farm Transmission Sculpture Garden

Inaugural installations by Matt Bua and Jeff Feddersen. Special Wave Farm installations for 2007: Works by LoVid, Douglas Repetto, Michelle Rosenberg, Tianna Kennedy and Tarikh Korula, and Giancarlo Bracchi.

More details below.

Wave Farm
free103point9 Wave Farm
5662 Route 23
Acra, NY 12405
(518) 622-2598
http://www.free103point9.org/wavefarm.php

free103point9 Wave Farm is located on 30 pastoral acres in the northern foothills of Catskill Mountain Park, 120 miles north of New York City. The property features ponds, meadows, walking paths through a mature pine forest, and mountain views. Situated within the spectacular Hudson Valley, Wave Farm programs include artist residencies, a study center, a transmission sculpture garden, and a performance and exhibition series.

WAVE FARM TRANSMISSION SCULPTURE GARDEN
http://www.free103point9.org/sculpturegarden.php
The Wave Farm Transmission Sculpture Garden provides a unique opportunity for artists to conceive of and realize a long-term outdoor transmission-based installation open to the public in a retreat-like rural setting. Artists are invited to submit proposals for sculptural works that incorporate the transmission spectrum in concept or practice. Artists are encouraged to consider recycled materials in their work and utilize renewable energy sources (if power is required). Works will be installed within the 15-acre evergreen forest, situated throughout already the established
walking paths, at Wave Farm. Coinciding with free103point9 tenth anniversary celebration, free103point9's Transmission Sculpture Garden will open July 7, 2007, with inaugural installations by Jeff Feddersen and Matt Bua.

Jeff Feddersen: EarthSpeaker
EarthSpeaker is an installation of multiple units of an outdoor sonic sculpture. Each unit is a large, solar-powered, electro-acoustic speaker, which absorbs sunlight during the day and emits low frequency sounds at dusk.

Matt Bua: Sing Sun - Room
Sing Sun - Room is a customized extension built onto an existing mobile home located on the Wave Farm property. This gazebo-like structure harnesses natural elements (wind, water, and solar) to create a site-specific installation where live-sound is composed based on the surrounding environmental conditions.


SPECIAL WAVE FARM INSTALLATIONS FOR 2007
http://www.free103point9.org/wavefarm.php
LoVid, "7105"
The earthwork, "7105," is a large-scale planting of the self-seeding annual Radio Calendula. These orange quill-like flowers bloom from early summer until frost and are positioned so to create the numbers 7105, which become visible from from the birds-eye vantage point of the Wave Farm Study Center.

Douglas Repetto, "puff bang reverb"
"puff bang reverb" is a kinetic sculpture and semiaccurate, two-dimensional hyper-zoom, which exposes the secret life of displaced air molecules. "puff bang reverb" was originally commissioned by Festival Rümlingen 2005 and recently re-installed for the exhbition [silence], 2007, co-organized by free103point9 at Gigantic ArtSpace in Manhattan.

Michelle Rosenberg, "Auricle"
"Auricle" is a mobile parabolic sound reflector. It amplifies the Wave Farm waterfall to listeners standing in the focus point of the curve with adjustable plastic semi-spheres that include openings for ear placement.

"free103point9: Selected Works"
A video compilation featuring selected recordings from ten years of free103point9 archives. Compiled and edited by Giancarlo Bracchi.

Tianna Kennedy and Tarikh Korula, "Restored Archeoacoustic Recording Kit and Documentation"
Restored recording stylus, circa 1930. Kennedy and Korula performed a series of experiments in Red Hook Brooklyn (Winter 2007). Archeoacoustic research is concerned with extraction of historic, environmental sound from found objects. Exhibited in [silence], Gigantic ArtSpace, 2007.


TUNE (OUT)))SIDE 2007
http://www.free103point9.org/event.php?eventID=1168
July 7, 2007 : 3pm - 9pm
$5 admission
This outdoors variation of free103point9's Tune(In))) event features artists playing directly into five FM transmitters at free103point9's Wave Farm. No sound is amplified. Attendees tune in with radio headphones as they explore 30 acres of meadows, forests, and ponds.

Streamed live on free103point9 Online Radio.

CHANNEL ONE (entrance stage)
Marina Rosenfeld
Todd Merrell
Chris Forsyth
Matt Bua
Edmund Mooney + Jonny Farrow
Marievel Knievel
Mara Barenbaum

CHANNEL TWO (under large tree in the forest)
ben owen is curating this channel.
Gill Arno
Richard Garet
Scott Allison
Andy Graydon
ben owen
Michael Farley
Andy Hayleck

CHANNEL THREE (stage near the ponds)
Giancarlo Bracchi is curating this channel.
Mudboy
Elliot Sharp
Blues Control
Bunnybrains
QXW: Ron Rosenmon + Kyle Lapidus
Giancarlo Bracchi + Juan Matos Capote

CHANNEL FOUR (DJ booth)
()
Radio Ruido
Tom Roe
Tianna Kennedy
Sarah Margaret Halpern
John Morton
Oh My Fucking God: Jamie from Bunnybrains with Shemika Moody

CHANNEL FIVE
"free103point9: Selected Works"
A video compilation featuring selected recordings from ten years of free103point9 archives. Compiled and edited by Giancarlo Bracchi.



SUMMER WINDS
http://www.free103point9.org/event.php?eventID=1166
July 21, 2007 : 1pm - 8pm
$5 admission

Artists using wind instruments, breath, or air. Performances will take place throughout Wave Farm, both in the fields near Wave Farm's ponds, and in the forest. Free jazz, sound art, installations and other forms of wind will blow.

Audio and video web streams for this show available at www.free103point9.org.

Performers include:

Tintinnabulate - an ensemble of improvising artists founded by Pauline Oliveros at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in 2005. Performers often include Jonas Braasch, Alex Chechile, Pauline Oliveros, Elizabeth Panzer, Charles Veasey, Jefferson Pitcher, C. Ryder Cooley, Mike Bullock, Dan Valente, and Bart Woodstrup. The lineup for this show is not yet set.

Stars Like Fleas (Brooklyn) - In contrast to similarly free-mindedgroups currently fusing folk, noise, electronics, and as in the works of Marcel Dzama (who created the cover art for their last record) Stars Like Fleas stands out for the delicate way they commingle the disturbing, harsh and confrontational with something undeniably direct, sincere, silly, joyous and unashamedly romantic. Their set will play to the theme of wind and air.

Hassay, DeChellis, Nakatani Trio
- Gary Hassay (sax) + Dan DeChellis (piano, synth) + Tatsuya Nakatani (percussion).

Sparkle Projects - Members of the Gold Sparkle Band, with special guests.

DizzySparkle - Tom Roe with members of the Gold Sparkle Band.

Kenta Nagai + Michelle Nagai

Christopher McIntyre and others. - "Simultaneous installation-style solo and ensemble performances scattered around Wave Farm."



CAMPFIRE SOUNDS 2007
http://www.free103point9.org/event.php?eventID=1167
A
ugust 3, 2007 : 5pm - August 5, 2007 : 1pm
Camp overnight for $18. $7 admission.

free103point9's Campfire Sounds is a two-day avant folk festival on 30 acres at free103point9's Wave Farm in upstate New York. Enjoy views of the Catskill Mountains with ponds, streams, fields, and forests. Food/beverages sold. This year will be the third annual Campfire Sounds show at Wave Farm.

Streamed live on free103point9 Online Radio.

FRIDAY AUG. 3
6-9 p.m.

DJ Dizzy

Mike Tamburo (PA)

Coal Hook
Featuring Ron Schneiderman (of Sunburned Hand of the Man, Aethr Myth'd, Massachusetts) and Jørgen Teller (Belgium).

SATURDAY, AUG. 4

Shawn Onsgard (Brooklyn)

Kim Cascone (California)

Sunburned Hand of the Man (MA)

MV & EE with the Golden Road (Vermont)

Samara Lubelski (NYC)

Franklin Mint (Ulster County, NY)
Phil Franklin of Sunburned Hand of the Man plus others.

Dan Matz (Philadelphia)
Matz is a member of Windsor for the Derby.

The Dust Dive Flash (Laura Ortman, Brooklyn)

The Dust Dive (Brooklyn)

Latitude/Longitude (Brooklyn)



ANIMALS
http://www.free103point9.org/event.php?eventID=1181
August 25, 2007 : 2pm - 8pm
$10 admission

Artists performing works on the theme of "Animals." Curated by Slink Moss. A portion of the proceeds goes to Animal Kind.

Audio and video streamed live on free103point9 Online Radio.

Performers include:

Evolution Revolution
- From Albany Times Union: "Led by the one and only reel-to-reel tape manipulator Jason Martin, the band not only sings Martin's quirky fauna-friendly anthems, but the floating membership of musicians also regularly performs in animal costumes, too."

Dan Saxton Bunny
- From Justin Stewart review in The Wire of Bunny Brains set at "Campfire Sounds 2006" at Wave Farm: "Beefheart disciples...feral freak-act...head-scratching mindfuck circus show."

Latitude/Longitude
Brooklyn-based free103point9 Transmission Artists Michael Garofalo and Patrick McCarthy began performing as Latitude/Longitude in 2004. Teasing melodies out of prepared and alternately tuned guitars while electronics murmur in a nest of instrument cables at their feet, the duo weave electro-acoustic dream songs from cross-circuit chaos.

S.M.O. (Slink Moss Orchestra)
- From Mark Guarino, Daily Herald: "Moss is an enigma, with a persona more in line with voodoo wildman Screamin' Jay Hawkins and T. Rex.... Vocally, Moss is Buddy Holly without the hiccups."

Guitar Trips
- From Mike Wood in foxy digitalis: "Guitar Trips is New Yorker Doug Anson, who makes a joyful solo noise on his axe, creating bluesy, trippy sound loops with plenty of sonic paths to follow. The lo-fi, recorded in a bedroom feel adds to the richness, as if this is a series of improvs done quietly, out of sight and only for self-satisfaction."

Flaming Fire
- "Well, at least some of the kooks have stuck it out in New York City and they are in Flaming Fire, an awesomely kooky, theatrical band singing songs of biblical plagues and Egyptian sexual practices. Picture the Butthole Surfers, the Residents, the Manson Family, and the B-52s all running amok in a Kenneth Anger film."
-Meg Sneed, Vice.

Animental
- Animental is an outlet for expression in its purest form, drawing inspiration from animals. Animental explores the ideas of innate reactions and behavior of animals vs. the programmed or acceptable actions of the human animal. It hopes to empower the individual who is performing as well as transport the audience to another realm of reality. Inspiration, freedom, hope, creativity, individuality, power, and feminism are things Animental hopes to transpire. We use sound, costumes, movement, storytelling, props, lights and what ever else the participants and performers bring.

Melanie Moser
- "Adult contemporary psych."

Owl

Cabinet of Natural Curiosities



RADIO FESTIVAL 2007
http://www.free103point9.org/event.php?eventID=1230
October 13, 2007 : 2pm - 8pm
$5 admission

The public component of a weekend long artist retreat including the free103point9 Transmission Artists and 2007 AIRtime residents, Radio Festival features a series of afternoon workshops and evening performances.

2007 Call for Submissions on the theme
A Sonic Portrait

Categories: Radio Art, Electroacoustic Music,
Videomusic and Installation Art
September 30, 2007 Deadline
www.naisa.ca

New Adventures in Sound Art invites artists of all ages and nationalities to submit works on the theme A Sonic Portrait for consideration in 2008 future programming for the annual Deep Wireless, Sound Travels, and SOUNDplay festivals, produced by New Adventures in Sound Art in Toronto, Canada. Artists may submit works in one or all of the following four categories: 1) Radio Art, 2) Electroacoustic Sound Art, 3) Videomusic and 4) Installation Art (Note: please send separate submission forms for each entry).

Individual interpretations or variations on the theme are encouraged: A Sonic Portrait could be a portrait of a person, place or thing done entirely in sound, an audio journal, a soundscape portrait, sound mapping, a visualization of a sound and so on.

All submitted works must respond in some way to the theme A Sonic Portrait in order to be considered for 2008 NAISA programming.

1) Radio Art (for Deep Wireless)

The Radio Art category is for works conceived for radio or that use radio and other wireless technology in their creation and that play with the medium. Works submitted to this category must be less than 60 minutes in duration. Special consideration will be given to 1 minute radio art pieces for broadcast as well as 1 page proposals for collaboration on translocal broadcast performances.

Pieces will be selected for broadcast within Canada and on several international radio stations in May 2008 as part of the Deep Wireless festival of radio and transmission art.

Both Canadian and International radio art submissions will be considered for inclusion in the following:

-The Deep Wireless 4 radio art compilation CD
-The radio art interventions (1 minute pieces played guerilla-style on radio stations during the Deep Wireless festival)
-The Radio Art Salon - a listening gallery of radio art works exhibited for the month of May.

A small number of Canadian artists will be chosen from the submissions to be part of the Deep Wireless/CBC's Outfront Commissioning Programme in 2008 with residencies at Charles Street Video in Toronto.

2) Electroacoustic Music (for Sound Travels)

The Electroacoustic Music category is for multi-channel and stereo works less than 20 minutes in duration and conceived for concert performance or presentation in the Sound Travels festival of sound art on Toronto Island. Preferred formats for performance presentation include 5.1, octaphonic and 12 channel formats in both acousmatic (tape), live and mixed formats. Please indicate in the notes the intended format of presentation and any required instrumentation or specialized equipment.

3) Videomusic (for SOUNDplay)

The Videomusic category is for works that explores non-narrative abstraction with equal emphasis on sound and image. Submitted works will be considered for video screenings with either stereo or multi-channel playback. Submitted works will be considered for screenings in either a performance venue or a small-size gallery alongside other works selected from this call for submissions.

4) Installation Art (for Deep Wireless, Sound Travels or SOUNDplay)

Installation proposals of previously realized works for site-specific and gallery installations with no fixed duration will be considered for presentation as part of Deep Wireless, Sound Travels or SOUNDplay. Site-specific works can be for indoor or outdoor locations. Works can use multichannel or single channel playback and may incorporate any number of media, but must feature original sound as a primary element. Please attach a list of the necessary equipment required to mount the installation and which of these items can be supplied by the artist. Submissions should include audio, video or audio-video documentation of previously realized versions of the work.

Submission Guidelines

Please submit a completed application form (in digital format if possible) along with the proposed works on CD or DVD.

For multichannel works, please include a stereo reduction for reference purposes only. For video works, please include a DVD copy for reference only. Screening masters will be requested later if the work is to be programmed. For installation works, please attach a list of required equipment with indications of equipment that can be supplied by the artist.

Materials not submitted with a self-addressed stamped envelope will remain in the archives of New Adventures in Sound Art and will not be returned. Please don't send original copies.

Submissions must be postmarked no later than September 30, 2007 and mailed to: New Adventures in Sound Art, 401 Richmond Street West #358, Toronto, ON M5V 3A8.



Submission Entry Form (attach extra pages if needed)

1) Name of creator/s: ______________________________________

2) Address of creator/s: _____________________________________

City, Province, Postal Code: _________________________________

3) Phone number of creator/s: (____) __________________________

4) E-mail of creator/s: ___________________________________

5) Category of Submission (check one only per work): _____ Radio Art ______ Electroacoustic Sound art ______ Videomusic _____ Installation Art.

6) Title of piece: _______________________________________________

7) Duration: _____ minutes ______ seconds

8) Names of other artists or contributors: _____________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________

9) Year of completion: ______

10) Relevance of the work to the theme Sonic Portrait:
_____________________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________

11) Equipment used to create the piece:

_____________________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________

12) Do you own the copyright to your piece: _____ yes ______ no

13) If not please give us the organization that we should contact in order to get permission to broadcast or publish the work on CD:

_____________________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________

14) Programme note for the piece (50 words):

_____________________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________


15) Biography of the artist (50 words):

_____________________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________



16) Format that you are mailing: _____ CD ______ DVD

17) Should you be chosen as one of the artists to participate in the Deep Wireless Commissioning Programme, you will be asked to create a new piece for radio broadcast and performance. Are you available to participate between the months of January and March 2008? _____ Yes ______ No

18) Although this is an international call for
submissions, the Deep Wireless/CBC's Outfront Commissioning programme is restricted to Canadians or Landed immigrants. Are you a Canadian or Landed Immigrant?_____ Yes ______ No

19) New Adventures in Sound Art produces a bi-weekly community radio show called Deep Wireless on CKLN-FM. Would you like your submitted audio work(s) to be broadcast on this or other programs on CKLN-FM?_____ Yes ______ No


Submissions must be postmarked no later than September 30, 2007 and mailed to:

New Adventures in Sound Art, 401 Richmond Street West #358, Toronto, ON M5V 3A8



Contact: Nadene Theriault-Copeland at 416-910-7231, 905-454-5714, or naisa@naisa.ca .

1. Mike Tamburo, Language of the Birds and Other Fantasies box set (New American Folk Hero)
2. Ting Ting Jahe, 18(16) (Winds Measure Recordings)
3. Jeff Arnal + Dietcich Eichmann, LP (Broken Research)
4. Chris Forsyth + Nate Wooley, The Duchess of Oysterville (Creative Sources Recordings)
5. William Parker + Hamid Drake, Summer Snow (Aum Fidelity)
6. David S. Ware Quartet, Renunciation (Aum Fidelity)
7. Uncle Woody Sullender + Greg Davis, The Tempest is Over (Dead CEO)
8. Joseph Nechvatal, Viral Symph0ny (iea)
With Matthew Underwood, Andrew Deutsch, and Stephane Sikora.
9. Jonas Braasch, Global Reflections (Deep Listening)
10. Seejayno, Sedainty (Shinkoyo/Here See/Skulls of Heaven/
11. Andy Graydon, At Bay (Winds Measure Recordings)
12. Tripwire, Looking in My Ear (Creative Sources)
13. William Parker + Hamid Drake, First Communion/Piercing the Veil 2xCD (Aum Fidelity)
14. Annea Lockwood, Thousand Year Dreaming/Floating World (Pogus)
15. Droopy Septum, Howling Lands, Whispering Leaves (NAFH)
16. The Spiritualaires of Hurtsboro, Alabama, Singing Songs of Praise (CaseQuarter)
17. The Dust Dive Flash, Tens of Thousands (free103point9 Audio Dispatch 029)
18. Albrecht Maurer + Norbert Rodenkirchen, Hidden Fresco (Nemu)
19. (), "Autecicadas/ocean_db_crash_nue" 7" (Parentheismusic.com)
20. Ignaz Schick + Jorg Maria Zeger + Burkhard Beins with Keith Rowe and with Charlwmagne Palestine, Perlonex Tensions (Nexsound)
21. Eliane Radigue, Jetsun Mila (Lovely Music)
22. Various artists, Selections from Peter Stuyvesant's Ghost (free103point9)
With Michelle Nagai, Edmund Mooney, Andrea Polli, Mike Hallenbeck, Ryan Holsopple, Renee Ridgway, Jonathan Zalben, Hanneke de Feijter, Saskia Janssen, Kaisu Koski, and others.
23. USA Is A Monster + Mudboy/USA Is A Monster + Kites, split CD (self)
24. Mike Tamburo + Ken Camden, Menken and Maas (NAFH)
25. Bob Lukomski + Hajji Majer + Thomas Lail, In the Motherheart of God the Father (Homestijl)
26. The Cutest Puppy in the World, Apotrope (NAFH)
27. Destructo Swarmbots, Clear Light (Public Guilt)
28. Andy Futreal, like twilight bleeding 3" CD (NAFH)
29. Mudboy, LP Bootleg(breadandanimals.com)
30. Eric Carbonara, Seven Pieces for Solo Guitar (Nada Sound Studio)
31. Edmund Mooney, Happy Trails (self)
32. Harm Stryker, Harm Stryker 3" CDr (Public Guilt)
33. Matt Weston, Resistance Cruisers 3" CD (7272 Music)
34. Parts & Labor, Escapers One (Broklyn Beats)
35. Yesterday in Parliament, Ritual Foxy: Tip it Up (Fenland Hi-Brow)
36. J. Crouse, guitar readouts (self)
37. Mouthus, For the Great Slave Lakes (Threelobed)
38. Robert Horton, Sleep, Wake, Hope and Then (NAFH)
39. MPLD, Lapse Phaser (self)
40. Lawrence Blatt, Out of the Woodwork (LMB)

free103point9 Online Radio is available around the clock. Programming includes live feeds from the free103point9 Project Space in Brooklyn, the free103point9 Wave Farm in upstate New York, and from performances and events from all over the world. The radio station plays many different styles, especially transmission works, but also field recordings, dub, turntablism, avant folk, free jazz, noise, generative sound, and other fringe styles. Many special live shows feature organizations such as the New York Society for Acoustic Ecology, Squidco, Screw Music Forever, and others. Tune in at www.free103point9.org.

We play transmission works, plus other experimental sounds. Send submissions for airplay to free103point9, 5662 Route 23, Acra, NY 12405. (Do not e-mail mp3s, or links to mp3s, it will be a waste of your time. Mailed submissions will be considered.)

From Science Daily:

University of Utah physicists developed small devices that turn heat into sound and then into electricity. The technology holds promise for changing waste heat into electricity, harnessing solar energy and cooling computers and radars.

University of Utah physicist Orest Symko demonstrates how heat can be converted into sound by using a blowtorch to heat a metallic screen inside a plastic tube, which then produces a loud tone, similar to when air is blown into a flute. Symko and his students are developing much smaller devices that not only convert heat to sound, but then use the sound to generate electricity. The devices may be used to cool electronics, harness solar energy in a new way, and conserve energy by changing waste heat into electric power.

"We are converting waste heat to electricity in an efficient, simple way by using sound," says Orest Symko, a University of Utah physics professor who leads the effort. "It is a new source of renewable energy from waste heat." Five of Symko's doctoral students recently devised methods to improve the efficiency of acoustic heat-engine devices to turn heat into electricity. They will present their findings on Friday, June 8 during the annual meeting of the Acoustical Society of America at the Hilton Salt Lake City Center hotel.

Symko plans to test the devices within a year to produce electricity from waste heat at a military radar facility and at the university's hot-water-generating plant.
The research is funded by the U.S. Army, which is interested in "taking care of waste heat from radar, and also producing a portable source of electrical energy which you can use in the battlefield to run electronics" he says. Symko expects the devices could be used within two years as an alternative to photovoltaic cells for converting sunlight into electricity. The heat engines also could be used to cool laptop and other computers that generate more heat as their electronics grow more complex. And Symko foresees using the devices to generate electricity from heat that now is released from nuclear power plant cooling towers.

Symko's work on converting heat into electricity via sound stems from his ongoing research to develop tiny thermoacoustic refrigerators for cooling electronics.
In 2005, he began a five-year heat-sound-electricity conversion research project named Thermal Acoustic Piezo Energy Conversion (TAPEC). Symko works with collaborators at Washington State University and the University of Mississippi. The project has received $2 million in funding during the past two years, and Symko hopes it will grow as small heat-sound-electricity devices shrink further so they can be incorporated in micromachines (known as microelectromechanical systems, or MEMS) for use in cooling computers and other electronic devices such as amplifiers.

Using sound to convert heat into electricity has two key steps. Symko and colleagues developed various new heat engines (technically called "thermoacoustic prime movers") to accomplish the first step: convert heat into sound. Then they convert the sound into electricity using existing technology: "piezoelectric" devices that are squeezed in response to pressure, including sound waves, and change that pressure into electrical current. "Piezo" means pressure or squeezing. Most of the heat-to-electricity acoustic devices built in Symko's laboratory are housed in cylinder-shaped "resonators" that fit in the palm of your hand. Each cylinder, or resonator, contains a "stack" of material with a large surface area -- such as metal or plastic plates, or fibers made of glass, cotton or steel wool -- placed between a cold heat exchanger and a hot heat exchanger.

When heat is applied -- with matches, a blowtorch or a heating element -- the heat builds to a threshold. Then the hot, moving air produces sound at a single frequency, similar to air blown into a flute. "You have heat, which is so disorderly and chaotic, and all of a sudden you have sound coming out at one frequency," Symko says.
Then the sound waves squeeze the piezoelectric device, producing an electrical voltage. Symko says it's similar to what happens if you hit a nerve in your elbow, producing a painful electrical nerve impulse.

Longer resonator cylinders produce lower tones, while shorter tubes produce higher-pitched tones. Devices that convert heat to sound and then to electricity lack moving parts, so such devices will require little maintenance and last a long time. They do not need to be built as precisely as, say, pistons in an engine, which loses efficiency as the pistons wear.

Symko says the devices won't create noise pollution. First, as smaller devices are developed, they will convert heat to ultrasonic frequencies people cannot hear. Second, sound volume goes down as it is converted to electricity. Finally, "it's easy to contain the noise by putting a sound absorber around the device," he says.

From Broadcast Law Blog:

The past few days have been eventful ones in the battle over Internet radio royalties. Appeals from the decision of the Copyright Royalty Board decision (see our memo explaining that decision, as well as our coverage of the history of this case) were submitted by virtually all of the parties to the case. In addition, the National Association of Broadcasters, which had not previously been a party to the case, filed a request to intervene in the appeal to argue that the CRB decision adversely affects its members. Also in Court, a Motion for Stay of the decision was submitted, asking that the CRB decision be held in abeyance while the appeal progresses. The "appeals" that were filed last week are simply notices that parties dispute the legal basis for the decision, and that they are asking that the Court review that decision. These filings don't contain any substantive arguments. Those come later, once the Court sets up a briefing schedule and a date for oral arguments - all of which will occur much later in the year. As the CRB decision goes into effect on July 15, absent a Stay, the appeal would have no effect on the obligations to begin to pay royalties at the new rates.

The Stay was filed by the large webcasters represented by DiMA, the smaller independent webcasters that I have represented in this case, and NPR. To be granted a stay, the Court must look at a number of factors. These include the likelihood that the party seeking the stay will be successful on appeal, the fact that irreparable harm will occur if the stay is not granted, the harm that would be caused by the grant of a stay, and the public interest benefits that would be advanced by the stay. The Motion filed last week addressed these points. It raised a number of substantive issues including the minimum per channel fee set by the CRB decision, the lack of a percentage of revenue fee for smaller webcasters, and issues about the ability of NPR stations to track the metrics necessary to comply with the CRB decision. The Motion raised the prospect of immediate and irreparable harm that would occur if the decision was not stayed, as several webcasters stated that enforcement of the new rates could put them out of business.

SoundExchange will have the opportunity to respond to the Motion, and the Court will then consider its merits. Watch to see a decision on the Motion by July 15. In addition to the actions in Court, SoundExchange publicized an offer of settlement made to noncommercial webcasters, an offer which was similar to that made to small webcasters (summarized here) - extend the provisions of the Small Webcaster Settlement Act until 2010, with a few tweaks. The SWSA for noncommercial webcasters required fees of between $250 and $500 per year for each noncommercial webcaster, as long as the webcaster had less than 146,000 aggregate monthly tuning hours of listening. If the webcaster exceeded that listening, it would pay at the rate of .251 cents ($0.00251) per aggregate tuning hour over the limit. The SoundExchange offer suggested a few tweaks, including requiring that noncommercial webcasters provide records of use of sound recordings - something not required under the SWSA. The current requirements for Internet radio recordkeeping are summarized here.

The offer was made to a number of noncommercial webcasting groups, so there will need to be negotiations before any deal is final. And as NPR had its own deal arrived at outside of the SWSA framework (a deal that is not public), they may well have concerns with this proposal which requires the same sort of record keeping about which its has expressed concerns in the Motion for Stay.

From DIYMedia:

It seems that the FCC's sweep of microradio is not leaving the old guard alone. Several long-running microradio stations have been visited by the FCC recently, including two individuals specifically targeted from the Free Radio Olympia collective, which sent out this missive: "Free Radio Olympia, a 6-year-old consensus-run pirate radio collective, has come under heavy harassment from the FCC. Although we have temporarily gone off the air while maintaining our internet stream, we have decided to continue broadcasting once we have found a new, willing transmitter site, despite the strong possibility of an immanent FCC raid...We especially would appreciate your being alert for any news of an actual raid, and spreading the story as rapidly and widely as possible."

Mediageek details another communiqué which details the station's long history of being a good steward the airwaves while posing a radical challenge to the FCC's licensing policies which deny the existence of stations like FRO. The station may consider separating its studio from transmitter via webcasting, which seems to at least complicate the FCC's enforcement process, if not stymie it.

Camera phones have only become widespread over the past few years, however in that brief time they have become indispensable. Their portable nature and attachment to a never-leave- home-without device has promoted the easy and quick capture of everyday life the moment it occurs. Amateur photographers armed with their cell phones have
already become an important resource for the media, providing first-look on-the-scene instant documentation.

Upstate Artist Guild celebrates the ability for instant unexpected art, capturing the candid moment, through the use of cell phone cameras. We invite artists to present in our unique online gallery, as part of our first international show, titled "Send." Submissions will be accepted throughout the month of June, 2007, and posted to the online gallery, where they will remain as a permanent exhibition.

Submissions:
1. Send your photo, using your phone or email, to send@upstateartists guild.org.
2. In the text portion of your message be sure to include your full name, the title of your photo, and your city and country. If necessary, you may submit this information separately via email, including your phone number for reference to the photo portion of the submission. Submissions without this information will be deleted.
3. Submissions will be accepted through the end of June 2007.
4. Only photos taken using a cell phone camera will be accepted.
5. The UAG is not responsible for any fees incurred through your cell provider.
6. The UAG reserves the right to withhold images it deems inappropriate for general viewing.
7. No copyrighted content shall be submitted as part of the exhibit.
8. The photo must be the work of the artist submitting the piece.
9. The UAG shall not in any way be responsible for violations of the guidelines mentioned above.
10. The UAG reserves the right to use submitted works for marketing purposes.

From Liz Berg via WFMU Beware of the Blog:

The battle between webcasters and SoundExchange (webcasting royalty collectors) is still raging over royalties. Earlier this year, the Copyright Royalty Board approved a hike in webcasting royalty fees so large that the increase would put many online stations out of business. An enormous backlash erupted from webcasters large and small, commercial and non-commercial, backed by the Save Net Radio campaign. NPR asked the CRB to provide an exception to the rates for non-commercial stations with large online audiences, but this was denied. Congress eventually caught wind of the storm, and wrote up a few bills to nix the CRB's rates, but no further progress has been made. In a surprise move, the CRB pushed the inception of their new rate scheme forward a few months, but as July 15 creeps up, few negotiations have taken place between webcasters and SoundExchange.

The few settlement offers that SoundExchange did offer up to webcasters are, unfortunately, useless to the vast majority of stations that will be affected by the rate hike. I imagine that Congress pressured SoundExchange to work something out, and in return SE wrote up a few PR-driven "deals" to get the Reps and Senators off their asses. Here are the details of SE's bum deals:

1. Small webcasters running on less than $250k/yr will pay 10% of their revenue to SoundExchange, and those with revenue up to $1.25 million will have to pay 12%. Any station with a budget over $1.25 million will be charged as per the CRB's new rate scheme. This sounds like a good deal, until you consider the fact that satellite radio companies XM and Sirius pay the highest royalties out of anybody, and their rate is only 7.5% of annual revenue. And 12% is supposed to be a "deal" for fledgling businesses? Here's the story.

2. SoundExchange offered a "private agreement" to a few NPR-affiliated non-commercial webcasters. They'll be charged a low royalty rate, provided that they don't have a large listenership. If they have more than 200 simultaneous listeners on their stream, the fees increase significantly. Trouble is, if your station wasn't part of the "private agreement", this "deal" doesn't apply.

In the meantime, NPR has filed a court request for an emergency stay on the CRB's new rates. Let's hope that SE comes up with a reasonable compromise for small webcasters and non-commercial stations soon...