2016-09-02T22:24:35Z http://blacklightradio.com/feed/atom/ WordPress Gene http://www.blacklightradio.com <![CDATA[Goodbye.]]> http://blacklightradio.com/?p=889 2016-09-02T22:24:35Z 2016-09-02T22:21:22Z
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It is with the deepest regret that I write you to let you know that BlackLight Radio will cease streaming effective midnight Sunday night.


We have been on life support since January when the new webcasting rates went into effect.


Today, I lost my “day job” and can no longer afford to pay to keep BlackLight Radio on the web.


Anonymous John and Jerry Wilson will carry you through this last weekend.


I am proud of what we created… and will miss you all very, very much.

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Gene http://www.blacklightradio.com <![CDATA[Why Is BlackLight Radio Silent?]]> http://blacklightradio.com/?p=881 2016-03-16T05:36:11Z 2016-03-16T05:36:11Z
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Starting today, Wednesday, March 16th, BlackLight Radio will not be playing any music or announcements of any kind for an hour each day starting at noon east coast time (9 AM west coast time).

We are doing this because the CRB and SoundExchange have not yet agreed to a deal with StreamLicensing and other small webcasters, and our rates make it impossible to support our current listening audience. Our income over the past six months is equal to only one-third of our expenses.

This silent hour each day is an effort to reduce our “impressions,” or number of listeners times the number of songs, each month to reduce our monthly losses to a level we can absorb.

If this daily silent hour isn’t enough to reduce our impressions to a manageable level, we will add more “holes” to our daily programming. We will also be adding more and longer commercial breaks to increase our income.

If and when we are able to get a reasonable rate from SoundExchange, we will return to continuous music.

Please continue to check this website and our Facebook page for more updates as they become available.

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Gene http://www.blacklightradio.com <![CDATA[Please Save Us!]]> http://blacklightradio.com/?p=876 2016-02-25T06:52:11Z 2016-02-25T06:52:11Z helpIf you listen to BlackLight Radio, chances are you’re doing so because you’ve discovered something that you can’t find on the commercial airwaves… but this radio station, and thousands of other small internet broadcasters, are currently in the fight for their life.

The music royalty fees we must pay for 2016 have much more than quadrupled because of new performance fee rulings by the Copyright Royalty Board. Many smaller webcasters have already run out of money and closed down, and BlackLight Radio may soon face the same fate.

You can help bring legislative action to bring royalty costs back down to affordable levels and help us keep providing the kind of programming that has brought you to us in the first place. Please help by adding your voice to those fighting for our survival. Helping costs you nothing, and it could help save BlackLight Radio.

Go to www.radiodiversity.org — Our survival depends on your voice!

Please go now and make your voice heard so you can continue to hear ours.

Thank you.

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Gene http://www.blacklightradio.com <![CDATA[Call to Action to Regain Reduced Fees]]> http://blacklightradio.com/?p=871 2016-01-22T07:28:42Z 2016-01-22T07:28:42Z
Call to Action Newsletter # 1

Please act to help reduce your fee.

Hello Gene

(This email is sent to all who were Affiliates as of a few days ago.) The first step in moving forward to regain reduced fees by bringing back the Small Webcasters Agreement is here and the time has arrived. While my attorneys continue to work behind the scenes, we webcasters and providers need to unite and start building momentum. This first phase is primarily to get behind a unified group pushing for success and begin telling our story to all who will listen and especially to those who can ultimately influence the outcome.

Four initial steps:

1) I encourage you to send this email to your stream host providers, to other webcasters, anyone else you think of that would get involved.

2) Sign up yourself and encourage your listeners to sign up at http://www.radiodiversity.org/ I may not always promote this website, John Draper, here at StreamLicensing, has a beta version that has been ready for months. However, at this time I think it is wiser to unite with this already recognized group. If as time moves forward we need to use our own website and action page I’ll let you know. So I’m encouraging you to move as many as possible to sign up at http://www.radiodiversity.org/ At least one Affiliate also has a good call-to-action website that I maybe sharing in the future.

3) If you haven’t already please read the following two articles for more background information. Once you have digested them, please share them with as many as you possibly can: As you know, legislative action is where it will have to go ultimately. http://www.radioworld.com/article/crb-ruling-is-%E2%80%9Ccrushingly-bad-news%E2%80%9D-for-microcasters/277856 and the second article: http://rainnews.com/small-webcasters-enter-the-unknown-of-2016/ As you read, please note that StreamLicensing fees are not being presently based on the CRB/SoundExchange commercial rate. However, if we don’t bring back the Small Webcasters Agreement before the end of the year, our fees will have to increase to the commercial level as shown in these news articles.

4) Putting links to the pages referenced in 2 and 3, above on your websites would be a great help as you promote bringing back the Small Webcasters Fee structure.

We small broadcasters have been hit with two major increases: ASCAP and CRB/SoundExchange. We can’t do much about ASCAP other than pay it, but we have the opportunity to bring rates back at least partially to affordable levels. We can do this as we unite and work what is ultimately going to be a legislative process to regain affordable performance fees as administered by SoundExchange.

I won’t be able to reply individually to your responses to this email but I want to thank your for all you are doing to help small webcasters have a continued future.

Marvin

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Gene http://www.blacklightradio.com <![CDATA[Licensing Update]]> http://blacklightradio.com/?p=866 2016-01-19T07:09:57Z 2016-01-19T07:07:23Z rough roadAnother quick update to let you know our licensing rates, which already doubled in January, are going up again in February.

As a result, we are looking at several ways to control costs which disrupts the least number of listeners. One option may be disconnecting from a listener after a certain length of time (for example, when you might go to lunch, etc) or in the worst case scenario, blocking United States listeners.

We don’t want to do any of this, but SoundExchange has our back against the wall and it’s this, or shut down. Please know that StreamLicensing is continuing to try to negotiate on our behalf, and we hope that a cost-effective settlement will soon come.

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Gene http://www.blacklightradio.com <![CDATA[Royalty Rates Update]]> http://blacklightradio.com/?p=853 2015-12-25T07:09:01Z 2015-12-25T07:09:01Z
StillStandingFinal

In my previous update, I told you that the new royalty rates for 2016 didn’t include a small webcaster’s agreement, effectively pricing us out of the industry.

Although much is still up in the air, I wanted to update with what I know now.

First, negotiations continue behind the scenes to get SoundExchange to agree to a reasonable rate which will allow BlackLight Radio and thousands of other webcasters to continue streaming. While they have NOT yet agreed to anything, the negotiations are ongoing and may be be weeks or months away from a workable resolution.

In the meantime, we are waiting to hear what our licensing provider will charge us moving in to 2016. My expectation is that it will be a hefty increase, but perhaps not so great that we cannot afford it. We should find this out next week, and, if there is any way Cindy & I can afford it, we will continue streaming just as we are right now, into 2016 until negotiations are completed at least.

If, however, the rate given us next week is completely out of reach, we will begin to look in to streaming with another company called Radionomy. They have an app, and provide streaming links to many of the major directories like iTunes, TuneIn, etc. While the “behind the scenes” link would change, as long as you are starting at this page you should always be able to listen.

Where could this go wrong?

  • The rates with our current provider could be out of our reach.

  • The rates with our current provider could be workable, but SoundExchange could refuse to negotiate a reasonable price and we could be down in January, or February, or March.

  • We could try to go to Radionomy, but they could have changed their rules to stream for 2016.

  • We could go to Radionomy, but (believe it or not) not have enough listeners and get kicked from the service. (Yes, you have to keep a certain sized audience for them to keep you streaming with them.)

  • We could go to Radionomy but their business model could fail and they could go under.



…Then again, a meteor could crash through the roof right now, killing me and taking out the BlackLight Radio server. It COULD happen, but honestly I believe we will be able to find a way to keep streaming into the new year.

TL;DR — BlackLight Radio is not likely to shut down at midnight new years eve.

More updates as they become available… and merry Christmas!

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Gene http://www.blacklightradio.com <![CDATA[All I Need Is A Miracle]]> http://blacklightradio.com/?p=844 2015-12-23T09:17:24Z 2015-12-23T09:17:24Z
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Let me first get out of the way that, yes, I know, “All I Need Is A Miracle” is by Mike + The Mechanics, while “Paradise Theater” is by Styx and contains “Don’t Let It End.” BlackLight Radio plays both songs, so I feel justified in mixing and matching for this post.

This will be a post of “maybes,” a visit from “The Ghost Of Christmas Future,” if you will.

Every legal internet radio station has to pay royalties to composers through ASAP, BMI & SESAC, and pay royalties to record labels through Sound Exchange.

Since 1998, small webcasters (those making less than about a million dollars a year, which is just about everybody except commercial broadcasters, Pandora, and I Heart Radio) have had reduced rates which allowed them to band together through companies like Live 365, Radionomy, and StreamLicensing.com and share the expense, and in this way make webcasting affordable.

Just a few days ago, the new webcaster royalty rates were released… and there are no longer small webcaster rates.

This jumps our expenses from about $30 / month to about $300 / month, which is completely out of my reach. The station had just started making enough each month to cover its own expenses, but there’s no way on a cable dispatcher’s income I can make up the extra $270+ / month the new rates will require.

If this is the rate we are required to pay, it means that BlackLight Radio will cease streaming as of January 1st, 2016.

You might think I’m going to ask you to help, but the reality is, it’s too late to help. The big broadcasters made the deals, and we’ve been shut out. About the only thing you can do is contact your local congressmen, but in the past we’ve been met mostly with apathy.

I simply wanted to let you know what happened if we are gone in a little over a week.

There are efforts being made behind the scenes to try and prevent this shut down. It is possible we may get a last-minute deal which will make rates affordable. We might end up moving to a different service, or only being available with a subscription, or we might only be able to broadcast outside the United States. (Ironically, the “freest country in the world” has the most oppressive music licensing fees.) We might be gone for a little while, or we might be gone for four years until rates are re-negotiated. We might be gone permanently.

I can promise you that we are not going down without a fight, and if there is a way to provide you with the 80s greatest hits in 2016, we will find that way.

If not, I can only tell you that it has been an honor and a pleasure to bring you back all this great music… and I will miss it just as much as you will.

Thank you for listening.

(I will update as information becomes available.)

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Gene http://www.blacklightradio.com <![CDATA[New Mobile Options]]> http://blacklightradio.com/?p=833 2014-08-09T02:03:46Z 2014-08-09T02:01:37Z
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If you look to the left of this post, you will see a link to a mobile app. If you are on either an android or an Apple product, that link will take you to your app store to download, for free, an app locked to BlackLight Radio.

First, the good about this app:

1)  It plays BlackLight Radio only,  and it launches quickly. It’s the closest thing I’ve experienced to turning the radio on to your favorite station.

2) The app lets you see some nice details, like a list of recently played songs and a photo of the currently playing artist.

3) By using the app, you’re helping BlackLight make money! The full – screen ad that pops up when you open the app and the banner at the bottom both will contribute to paying the bills at BlackLight Radio.

Now the not-so-good:

1)  The icon says “Stream Licensing” instead of BlackLight Radio. They provide our music royalty licensing; it’s another legal thing.

2) The artist photos are REALLY distorted. I’m working to figure out why, and get the pictures clear and clean on your phone.

There are many exciting things in the works, but this is all I have time to tell you about now. Enjoy your mobile 80s on BlackLight Radio’s mobile app!

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Gene http://www.blacklightradio.com <![CDATA[Financial Realities At BlackLight Radio]]> http://blacklightradio.com/?p=823 2014-04-01T04:01:09Z 2014-04-01T04:02:32Z belt-tighteningAs many of you know, 2014 has been a year of change for BlackLight Radio. As costs continue to skyrocket and licensing companies close their doors, it becomes harder and harder to keep the 80s hits coming.


The record labels, under the guise of paying the artist, have been working to break internet radio financially. Unfortunately, the congressmen they’ve bought have done their bidding again and again, labeling stations like BlackLight Radio the enemy and raising royalty fees over and over since the implementation of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act.


As April approached, I took a long, hard look at what we’re doing here, and worked to figure out a way to save the station without completely going broke. After many stressful nights of searching the internet, asking my friends, and pulling my hair out, I believe I have come up with a successful way to keep the records you and I love streaming around the world while keeping royalty costs manageable.


To understand this elegantly simple solution, you first need to understand how the copyright office charges us. The rules are that you pay per song, times the number of listeners. The more listeners tuned in to a song, the more you pay. Also, the more songs you play, the more you pay. (SxL=$$$)


Other than shutting down, my first thought was to add more talk content. If we did 30 minutes an hour of talk, we’d cut the songs per hour down to about 7 (from 15). That would cut our royalty bill in half!


Then I realized how much time, energy, and thought would have to go in to, day after day, creating new spoken content. I do, for the time being, have to go to my day job to pay for my night passion. There simply wouldn’t be any way for me to do this, and I didn’t know anyone else I was willing to ask to undertake such an enormous project.


Another thought that occurred to me was to play only the PartyMixes of the 80s hits… you know, the 12″ remixes we play Friday and Saturday night. I immediately shot that idea down, though. First, there aren’t PartyMixes for every hit of the 80s. Second, some of the PartyMixes aren’t much longer than the single version. Third, I didn’t want to be responsible for getting you in trouble at work by causing you to dance uncontrollably every day of the week.


What could be done to control the river of money headed out the door and into the pockets of corporate fat cats? How could we limit the number of songs BlackLight Radio played without putting anything other than the 80s greatest hits on the stream back-to-back? Finally, the solution came to me:


SLOW DOWN THE HITS.


Of course! Why hadn’t it occurred to me before? So simple, so easy to do… we had already been speeding up songs a little to match how top 40 radio stations in the 80s sped up the 45s they got from the record labels… all I had to do was move the speed control the other direction! Every second of every hour would be wall-to-wall 80s hits, but we would significantly reduce the number of songs we play per hour. The result? Happy listeners, and lower royalty rates!


Today, we begin what the business world calls the “Second Quarter” of 2014… and as we start this second quarter, we cut our royalties (and the money going to pay for more yachts for the record label executives) in nearly HALF.


My hope is this idea will spread, and other stations online will begin doing the same thing. This could save the internet radio industry thousands, no, millions of dollars a year that can be better used buying decals to put on their station vehicle / wife’s minivan. The industry can finally break free of the shackles of the DMCA and breathe the sweet, fresh air of broadcasting freedom!


The best part is, if you tune in and listen, the slowdown is hardly noticeable. Chances are if I hadn’t mentioned it, you wouldn’t have ever detected it. No, no change in the hits coming your way, but a big change in the amount of… change… we get to keep each day!


Also: April Fools. We’ll return to normal speed tonight.

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Gene http://www.blacklightradio.com <![CDATA[Just Like Starting Over]]> http://blacklightradio.com/?p=812 2014-02-05T21:12:09Z 2014-02-05T21:11:21Z business_as_usualRadio stations aren’t always the most transparent when things are changing behind the scenes… but we’re not most radio stations.

We license every song we play through a company called Loudcity. They are closing down at the end of February.

We expect to move to a company called StreamLicensing. For the most part this will only mean if you click through our webpage, the address may change where you land to listen.

What won’t be as seamless will be some of our weekend programming. Anything outside of BlackLight Radio (like Kick Up The 80s, or 80s Yearbook) is at risk of being removed.

Do you have a favorite weekend show, or do you listen Saturday mornings? I’ll fight to save any shows you enjoy listening to.

I’ll keep you updated as things progress… if there’s anything you, the listener, needs to know, I’ll let you know here and on our Facebook page.

…In the meantime, it’s business as usual: the 80s greatest hits on BlackLight Radio!

EDIT: If you are unable to listen through Loudcity’s page during the transition, you can still find us on TuneIn and Shoutcast, along with many mobile apps.

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