RIAA Notifies REELRADIO of Non-Compliance
This message explains why 1,147 unscoped airchecks are currently unavailable. On July 7, 2014, REELRADIO, Inc. received notice from the Recording Industry Association of America regarding non-compliance with conditions of our statutory license. The statutory license allows REELRADIO to stream music sound recordings heard in our "unscoped" airchecks. However, the statutory license requires licensees to observe specific conditions as to the transmission of musical programs online.
The RIAA has determined that our service fails to meet the requirements for "archived programs", which must be at least five hours in duration and may not be made available for more than two weeks. The service must also display the Title, Artist and Album of each featured song, but only while the recording is being performed. You have probably seen this type of "online radio station" elsewhere on the Web.
Obviously, we have no single airchecks with a duration of five hours, and our exhibits are permanent. Our current method for streaming content does not allow real-time metadata, such as artist and title, to be included in the media file.
We have been asked to remedy these violations to continue operating under the statutory license. Further, the RIAA insists that we obtain permission from the copyright owners of these old radio broadcasts. Many broadcasters understand the difficulty of this requirement, since nearly all radio stations have changed ownership, format, and call letters, many times over. Nevertheless, we are expected to provide the RIAA with an explanation of how we have permission from radio stations that no longer exist and copyright owners who have no interest in historic recordings of their property. The law is too narrow and should obviously be amended to include genuine "historical archive" sites, like REELRADIO.
It may be possible to meet the requirements for archived programs, though available technology necessitates that existing airchecks be cut into smaller pieces. Sometimes, there will be an audible "skip", but every time a record plays, you'll know the title and artist, even if there is no album! Further, a system can be devised so that new exhibits and favorites are combined in a five-hour program that disappears after two weeks. Unfortunately, you will not be able to move around in such a file, and you won't be able to select what you want when you want it. While this might meet the requirements of the statutory license, it's not the way you have listened to REELRADIO. It also requires significantly more time to prepare, and has a greater chance of technical failure. It's not ideal, but it would work.
We believe we can continue to feature our 'scoped content, from which the music has been removed, as we did for the first six years of our existence. These airchecks are not streamed under terms of our statutory license, they are streamed under provisions of "fair use." Of course, anyone can do that, and if we can't stream 'scoped airchecks, it would seem that airchecks will be gone from the web entirely.
We have suspended streaming of unscoped airchecks to show our intention of meeting the requirements of the law. Currently, we are not offering renewals or new subscriptions. The RIAA needs our response by August 8, and they can suspend our license entirely, in addition to other penalities as specified in the Copyright Act. Those who subscribed recently are likely to be unhappy about this unforeseen circumstance. Those who have supported this site and organization for years are probably deeply saddened by this turn of events. Please note that our tax-exempt status has not changed. It is our intention to continue with 'scoped airchecks. We will offer unscoped airchecks if we are licensed to do so.
Please excuse the lack of new exhibits while we address this problem. We are greatly appreciative of your support and will be working to resolve these issues.
Richard Irwin, President
REELRADIO, Inc.
Thu Jul 10, 2014
ref. - http://reelradio.com/riaa_announcement.php