Over the air or via the Net?

I don't get this now, and I didn't get it when it rose it's ugly head the first time either. Why should radio stations have to pay and add'l fee to broadcast their music over the Internet when they pay to play it over the air today? It's the same broadcast, just a different medium. Whether I listen to a radio plugged in at my desk with an antenna sticking out of my cube or via my web connection shouldn't make a difference to anyone. I'm not listening to both so I'm not an add'l listener. As a matter of fact, with an Internet connection I might be a listener who would otherwise be listening to a CD than actual radio content if it weren't for streaming audio.

Now I do understand companies who aren't radio stations paying to stream music. AOL, Yahoo, etc. should have to pay since they aren't paying for the over the air broadcast rights in the first place. But charging Clear Channel twice to play the same songs is ridiculous, unless I'm missing something somewhere. To cover these fees they'll just add more advertising content and play less music. This translates to fewer songs played, less fees to begin with, and more people moving to satellite radio or some other ad free delivery mechanism. Better yet, we'll all get Tivo for streaming radio and skip through the ads ourselves.

This goes back to the point I made here that the artists, management companies, and the recording industry are trying to collectively rip us off. Apparently the obvious backlash against them isn't working. Maybe we should all turn off our radios for a week and see if that makes our point. What's next, charging separate prices for at home or at work, or over cable versus DSL? Maybe separate fees could be charged for Wi-fi delivery or on a computer by computer basis. Where will the madness stop?

Unfortunately, I know the answer to this question. The madness will continue as long as there's some sucker out there willing to listen to the music, pay for the CDs, and by the products advertised on the shows. So until the vast hordes of radio listeners and music purchasers change their collective behavior, we're all going to be stuck with whatever the industry provides us. As long as you're okay with being taken advantage of, these trends will continue. I don't know about the rest of you, but personally, I'm tired of it.