Record industry eyes digital radio piracy safeguards

WASHINGTON -- The recording industry, reeling from online music theft, is pushing the federal government to head off what executives fear is a potentially bigger piracy threat in digital radio.

In documents and meetings at the Federal Communications Commission and in communications with other industry trade groups, the Recording Industry Association of America, which represents the major US labels, is attempting to convince the government of the need for copyright protection for sound recordings aired on digital radio.

While the Recording Industry Association of America's campaign has been largely behind the scenes, the association will take a higher profile on the issue this week as its CEO and chairman, Mitch Bainwol, hopes to make it a focus of a hearing scheduled on copyright issues facing webcasters. The association also plans to file formal comments with the commission on a need for digital radio copy protections, when final comments on issues surrounding the technology are due June 16.

"We're in favor of HD radio," Bainwol said. "It offers great benefits for consumers and everyone involved, but we're not blind to several concerns. Someone could cherry-pick songs off a broadcast and fill up a personal library and then post it on Kazaa."

Digital technology brings to radio signals quality similar to digital television. An FM digital radio broadcast brings listeners CD-quality sound, while digital AM radio sounds like FM. The digital radio stream also gives broadcasters the ability to multicast their signals or use them for data delivery and other services.

In 2002, the FCC agreed to interim rules for the service when it selected the in-band, on-channel digital radio transmission technology produced by iBiquity Digital, a Baltimore-based company that licenses the technology. There are more than 100 broadcast stations nationwide using the technology, and several high-end audio manufacturers are making digital receivers. IBiquity COO Jeff Jury said the company is willing to build in copy protection but wants the rights holders, broadcasters, and consumer electronics makers to agree to the regime.

"If there's a consensus among the groups, we're willing to go along," he said. "But given the state of the technology, it's premature to worry about this."

The current proceeding will set the rules of service for broadcasters, telling them what service can be offered and outlining their obligations. The RIAA hopes to convince policy makers copy-control technology is an imperative. Bainwol and the association say that digital radios of the future could allow people to copy a song off the air that is as pristine as a CD and redistribute it on the Internet or download it to removable media.