Just a decade ago, options for hearing chamber music, jazz, and world music on the radio were straightforward and rather limited: a local NPR or Pacifica station spinning Beethoven string quartets or Wynton Marsalis on a dial filled with infinite varieties of commercial pop, country, and talk. But as with many art forms, the Internet has revolutionized how niche music reaches fans. With recording, podcasting and webcasting becoming cheaper every day, traditional radio broadcasts have morphed into dozens of new forms on the web, and ? perhaps most importantly ? the line between being a performer and a broadcaster has blurred. This new environment offers new possibilities for reaching new audiences, but it requires a new way of thinking about radio. read more

Peter DiCola expanded on his response to Jack Shafer’s Slate.com article in an op-ed on Huffington Post.

In January 2002, Minot, North Dakota, became a symbol of what’s wrong with media consolidation. One night a train derailed, resulting in a chemical spill, and Minot’s emergency-response authorities had difficulty getting their message on the air. Clear Channel, the country’s largest owner of radio stations, owns 6 of the 9 stations in Minot. read more

Over the past several years, the independent music community has flourished. It now represents over 80 percent of music released in this country and nearly 30 percent of the overall music marketplace. While many argue the Internet has had a negative impact on traditional record sales, it has also helped artists to tear down the walls between themselves and their fans and created the foundation for an unparalleled musician-powered renaissance. If this transformation continues, musicians may leave behind the long-standing imbalance that requires them to sign away their copyrights as a condition of gaining a major-label contract. If they do so, artists? gratitude should flow to the principle of network neutrality. read more

Are you a musician without health insurance? You’re not alone. As musicians ourselves we know there are significant hurdles to obtaining health insurance, especially if you’re trying to make a career as a musician. In 2002 we conducted an online survey to ask musicians about health insurance. Of the 2,700 folks who answered the survey, 44 percent did NOT have health insurance. This is much higher than the national average of the uninsured, which hovers around 18 percent.