Were you a Live365 listener? It's gone! / myLot

Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania

February 19, 2016 12:12pm CST

This morning I decided to listen to some music online, so I called up Live365.com as I often have in the past. Since 1999 Live365 has featured music from thousands of small broadcasters in every genre imaginable. But, much to my dismay, I found that Live365 shut down on January 31. The biggest reason was the expiration of the Webcaster Settlement Act of 2009. The effect of that was to allow the U.S. Copyright Royalty Board to force up the royalty costs for small internet broadcasters to a point that most can't pay. I don't really get it. I understand that artists (or their heirs) want to paid for the music they produced. But jacking up royalty rates for small broadcasters isn't bringing them more revenue; it just reduces the number of broadcasters sharing the music. So, for no gain to the producers, the diversity of music outlets on the internet has been drastically reduced. Are there winners here? I don't see them.

5 people like this

5 responses

Danny Williams

@danny1971 (1747)

• Church Hill, Tennessee

19 Feb 16

Yeah, I was definitely a Live365 listener. I remember listening to some New Age music on there back few years ago. And would listen to it all night. Woke up the next morning, and it was still playing. LOL I really liked their station. Sad to see them go. I'm going to miss it.

1 person likes this

Ronald Franklin

@RonElFran (1214)

• Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania

20 Feb 16

I'm missing them already. Even though there are still music broadcasters on the web, I don't know of any other outlet with the selection of stations and genres Live365 had.

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Danny Williams

@danny1971 (1747)

• Church Hill, Tennessee

20 Feb 16

@RonElFran I am too. I used to listen to them while I would surf Facebook, and Twitter. Now that I have Mylot, I can listen to the radio. But, not through Live365 though! That's a bummer that they stopped the website! What was the reason for anyway?

inertia4

@inertia4 (27961)

• United States

19 Feb 16

I have heard of it but was never a member. I always listened to regular radio, then satellite radio and then Apple music. I get plenty of music to listen to. I understand what you mean about the royalties and I have to agree. I know music is not free. But the listeners need a place to go to hear all that great music.

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inertia4

@inertia4 (27961)

• United States

21 Feb 16

@RonElFran That is a great offering. I just never became a member. Now I guess it just don't matter. But, that said, I think Apple radio, part of Apple music, is wonderful. As well as satellite radio. Many different genres and things. Along with talk radio as well.

Four Walls

@FourWalls (62475)

• United States

19 Feb 16

A friend of mine had a Live365 radio station. She's had to move her station to another site because of this.

My personal opinon about this: it's the "big companies" banding together to get the outlets for the "little guy" removed. Justin Townes Earle (I use him as an example because he just came on my iPod

) needs and wants the exposure. Unfortunately, he has his music licensed through the same outlet as Don Henley (there are three licensing agencies in the US: BMI, ASCAP, and SESAC). Henley, even though he's worth about $220 million, wants more. (As my late lamented friend Tim Wilson used to joke about comparing himself to fellow southern comic Larry the Cable Guy, "He's making a payment on a Lear jet, and I'm trying to make a payment on a Lear truck cover!"). Now, Earle or Robbie Fulks or Wayne Hancock or Todd Snider or Jason Isbell cannot go to their licensing agency and say, "No, really, it's okay, I'll take two cents instead of seven in exchange for the greater exposure!" Radio stations pay BMI, ASCAP, and SESAC a set fee every year, but they can easily afford to because they charge for commercials. Online radio stations -- some of them, anyway (365 was one of them) -- pay the station owners part of the money made by the site. When the licensing agencies raise the rates everyone else has to either take a hit, or (in the majority of the cases) the online sites take the easy route and just shut down. Don Henley isn't going to miss the nickel. Justin Townes Earle is going to miss the nickel AND the exposure.

1 person likes this

Ronald Franklin

@RonElFran (1214)

• Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania

20 Feb 16

The Webcaster Settlement Act had an exception built in that allowed the small broadcasters to be charged lower royalties while the big boys paid at a higher rate. That seemed to work for everybody, and I can't see what the supposed gain is in doing away with that provision.