Industry associations representing the US music and radio industries have been mailing open letters to each other about the need, or not, for copyright protection technology to be used in the developing American digital radio format referred to as HD. Although both sides are seemingly keen to avoid conflict, it still isn't completely clear whether common ground can be found.
David K Rehr, President of the National Association Of Broadcasters, began with an open letter to the Recording Industry Association Of America relating to the music business's previously stated concerns that high quality easy-to-capture digital radio posed a new piracy threat and their opinion that radio companies should be forced to encrypt their output in such a way that the threat is reduced.
Rehr argued that the RIAA were exaggerating the piracy risk posed by digital radio, writing: "the scope of any piracy risk associated with HD Radio is likely more limited than the RIAA has previously asserted". He added that people looking for free music were much more likely to access tracks via P2P or non-copy protected CDs that 'stealing' them off digital radio, explaining: "those desiring to obtain and listen to pure, uninterrupted performances of sound recording in lieu of radio already have an abundant number of means to do so".
On the RIAA's specific demands that broadcasters should encrypt content to reduce the piracy threat, Rehr argued that such demands were unfeasible and would set back the development of the HD radio medium, "rendering some stations and equipment obsolete".
Responding to that letter, RIAA chief Mitch Bainwol has published his own open letter, reaffirming his organisations concerns over the piracy risk HD radio poses. He insists that the NAB have misunderstood the kind of encryption the music industry has requested, arguing that the kind of 'broadcast flag' system they are proposing is supported by the NAB in video services, so should be applied to radio too: "A broadcast flag technology similar to the solution [the NAB] supports in the video context would be adequate to meet our needs".
Talking of copy protection type nonsense in the digital age, don't forget DRM is the topic for the MusicTank Think Tank event at Soho's Bertorelli Restaurant on Wednedsday night. We'll be chatting to one of the panelists about their take on all this copy protection nonsense in the CMU Daily tomorrow, meantime full details of the event is online at http://www.musictank.co.uk/