At the public radio station KEXP in Seattle, there’s a simple procedure for evaluating new technology. "We just go ahead and do stuff," says one of the station’s morning disc jockeys. That’s how the quirky station created one of the first music podcasts—without support from major record companies.
A podcast is a digital recording of a radio-style audio program that can be downloaded from the Internet and played on a digital music player. Many podcasters think the technology could revolutionize radio as TiVo did television.
Podcasting is a great way for KEXP to reach thousands of new listeners, especially those outside of Seattle. But the station can’t podcast programs such as John in the morning—a variety of independent and mainstream music—because record companies haven’t provided an easy, affordable way for podcasters to license songs. That’s why most podcasts today are talk radio.
KEXP decided that it couldn’t sit around and wait and wait for a major label to sign off on this. So it invited 14 unsigned or small bands from the Seattle area to contribute songs to a podcast. The station asked a lawyer—a listener who volunteers at the station—to draw up a simple contract for the bands. KEXP did not release numbers but said the podcast was a hit. KEXP is now podcasting some live performances to which it owns the rights.
Since podcasts are recordings, they can be played at any time. Listeners can pause, fast-forward or rewind them. And since podcasts are posted online, listeners can download programs from radio stations and independent broadcasters from all over the world. The podcasts can also be hacked and pirated. An enterprising listener could pull songs out of a podcast and turn them into music files or CDs.
That’s why many record companies say the technology is promising but problematic. But record labels worry that listeners will pirate the songs contained in the downloaded radio shows. For example, OK Go and several other emerging bands with EMI have their own podcasts. But EMI is not ready to approve a blanket podcasting license. "Podcasting is potentially very exciting," says Executive Vice-president Adam Klein. The result: yet another Napster-like standoff over piracy and music rights. |
The words "a major label" in Paragraph 4 most probably refers to a ______ .
A．government agency
B．podcasting director
C．public radio station
D．record company