Re: Cara Jepsen: IE MEDIA

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: YES! RE: "Kiss-FM (WKSC-FM 103.5) canned Drex last year and replaced him with Brotha� Fred � a.k.a. the fauxhawked young Christopher Frederick, whose last market was Charlotte, NC. Good luck filling Drex�s shoes � and keeping your fauxhawk erect during Chicago�s frigid winter." : : Media: February 2011 : : ilentertainer | Feb 01, 2011 | Comments 0 : : Bands! Get Your Money! : : The SoundExchange clearinghouse is slated to deliver $260 million in royalties to musicians for digital airplay in 2010. That�s a huge jump from $100 million in 2008, and $155 million in 2009. : : But much of that money never makes it into a musician�s hands. That�s because the Washington, DC-based nonprofit hasn�t been able to locate thousands of artists who are owed money. At the end of 2009, SoundExchange had $111 million in unclaimed royalties � $43 million of which was unclaimed by artists and labels. : : �As much as we want to, we can�t send out the checks until someone fills out the paperwork,� says spokeswoman Laura Anderson. �But it�s really difficult to get them to do it. Some people think it�s too good to be true or aren�t used to getting paid for their work, or think we�re an e-mail scam.� : : SoundExchange collects royalties from digital music streams on the Internet, satellite radio, and cable television. Then the staff combs through 3 billion lines of data each month to determine who is owed. �In some cases it�s listed as �artist unknown� or Beethoven � who has never made a sound recording. That means we have to do a lot of research to figure out who should be paid.� : : It takes about 20 minutes to register online at www.soundexchange.com, and requires a voided check and a state tax number (there are instructional videos on the site). : : �There�s no downside to registering,� says Anderson. �We�re a nonprofit. There�s never a cost. If someone thinks they might be owed money or are getting play on the Internet or satellite radio or a cable-TV music channel, they should register. It doesn�t conflict with any other membership. �We�ve simplified it as much as we can. When people finally do it, they say, �That was easy. I wonder why I waited so long.�� : : As board member Martha Reeves told the Detroit News, �The artists whose records that are being played, they should be paid.� : : MORE FREE MONEY FOR MUSICIANS: BROADCAST ROYALTIES COULD BECOME REALITY IN 2011: One of the groups SoundExchange does not collect from is over-the-air radio stations. : : But that could change � soon. : : �There has been an 80-year push from the music community to get fair pay for radio airplay,� says MusicFirst spokesperson Tom Matzzie. �We think our best shot is in 2011.� : : Last year, the lame-duck Congress revived the Performance Rights Act (HR-848), which would require broadcasters to pay performance fees to musicians and record companies. Currently, terrestrial radio stations only have to pay the songwriters. The measure also covers international royalties. : : Musicians, record companies, and even Pandora support the bill, which is the brainchild of Michigan Democrat John Conyers. : : Not surprisingly, broadcasters � particularly the National Association Of Broadcasters (NAB) � oppose HR-848, claiming it would take a toll on an already beleaguered radio industry, whose advertising revenue dropped by about eight percent between 2003 and 2008. : : The bill has been approved by the House and Senate Judiciary Committees and is supported by the White House. : : Last year, Congress asked the two sides to negotiate. In July, MusicFirst and broadcasters hammered out a preliminary agreement to present to Congress. �Then they backed away from it and came back with something we had not previously agreed to,� says Matzzie, who remains optimistic. �We think we can have an agreement that will work for everyone � that will support the music community and grow radio.� : : Matzzie says the new Republicans in the legislature should not be an impediment. �On the liberal side, it�s seen as a fair-play issue,� he says. �On the conservative side, it�s looked at as a property-rights issue. There�s a lot of consensus on it, and if you look outside of Congress you have support from the left to the right � from the AFL-CIO to conservative activist Grover Norquist.� Learn more at musicfirstcoalition.org. : : ODDS N SODS: President Obama started off the year by signing the Local Community Radio Act (LCRA), which will open the door for unused FM-radio frequencies to become low-power stations with FCC approval. Sadly, Chicago�s airwaves are already saturated . . . Smooth 87.7 (WLFM-FM) picked up the new syndicated morning show, �Sandy & Kenny G In The Morning.� It airs weekdays from 6 to 9 and features longtime Detroit radio personality Sandy Kovach and, yes, that Kenny G. Soon, everyone will have a radio show . . . Crest Hill-based south-suburban classic rocker WRXQ-FM (100.7) recently launched a live, local-music-driven morning show hosted by Elwood (Mark Mailer) and added local shock jock Raven for middays. They join interim program director Freak, whose other job � as interim program director � has him adding a wider variety of classic cuts to the NextMedia-owned station. Hear it online, at www.wrxq.com . . . Kiss-FM (WKSC-FM 103.5) canned Drex last year and replaced him with Brotha� Fred � a.k.a. the fauxhawked young Christopher Frederick, whose last market was Charlotte, NC. Good luck filling Drex�s shoes � and keeping your fauxhawk erect during Chicago�s frigid winter. : : � Cara Jepsen

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