Peter Sinclair: Big players take plunge and swim against stream

And the finalists in the Radio Category of the 5th Annual Webby Awards are (drumroll, please):

BBC World Service: Despite restructuring ructions, as great as ever.

COMFM: Global, bilingual (French/English) site with a sort of 50s flavour.

Fresh Air: Award-winning weekday radio e-zine of contemporary arts and issues

StormLive: Specialises in a genre describable as international grunt.

Youth Radio: This overwielded title generally signals something painstakingly PC, and if that's what you're into, this site will not disappoint. I mean, getting a nose-ring is still a heavy issue.

The fifth annual awards show is scheduled for Wednesday, July 18, at San Francisco's legendary, newly renovated War Memorial Opera House.

The leading honour for websites displaying technological creativity online, the Webbys are presented by the International Academy of Digital Arts & Sciences, the voting body of the awards themselves.

Webbys are presented in a diverse range of categories from activism, health and film to music, community and travel.

As a judge in the radio category, I keep an ear to the web for what's being played online, and I can't help worrying that there might not be much left to judge next year.

For the double whammy of rights and royalties is making online streaming an increasingly precarious activity.

Faced with a new American Federation of Television and Radio Artists' contract, which guarantees that performers in radio commercials will be paid extra fees for online play - not to mention the continuing brouhaha (I've always wanted to use that word) over music copyright which, if anything, seems to be getting more heated than ever - some of the big players are pulling out.

Last month, given the new complexities, giant Clear Channel Communications, which boasts more than 1000 online stations, of which nearly 400 were streaming, was reported to be looking at getting out of the business entirely, given considerations of "legal and financial viability."

Everyone wants their piece of an action which has yet to show many vital signs. Will streaming ever generate profits?

At least in America, given the stranglehold of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act, which tries to emulate online the real-world system of traditional radio licensing fees, some people are inclined to doubt it.

New Zealand, though, is displaying a slightly more upbeat attitude.

Following the much-publicised expiry of its contract with the Wellington company Awacs, and the decision to quit the live streaming field for the time being, Radio New Zealand chief Sharon Crosbie is nevertheless glowingly positive.

"We've been accused of being too prudent," she says.

And it's certainly arguable whether you can be too prudent in the online marketplace as it stands at present.

She implies that the present RNZ stance is nothing more than a temporary tactical withdrawal - "we're waiting for the other shoe to drop on streaming."

As always, the French have a phrase for it: reculer pour mieux sauter, to retreat momentarily so as to advance more boldly.

This, then, seems to be the RNZ strategy on true streaming, and you can't really fault it.

Chris Merrick, station manager of Portland's non-profit KBOO-FM, which stopped streaming at almost exactly the same time, agrees. "I'm trying to protect KBOO from financial damage. The issue for everyone is just to wait and see ... "

With any luck, what we'll see is a glimmer of profits by this time next year, and there will still be something for me to judge at the 6th Webby Awards.

BOOKMARKS


DINING IN ... Urban Gourmet

With winter drawing in and the nightly trip to the dairy becoming more fraught with rain and darkness, this excellent online home delivery service may be just what you need. Offering a limited but delectable range of dishes that could easily grace the menu of a classy restaurant - Rack of Lamb with Mustard and Sage on a Port Wine and Cassis Sauce; Chicken breast with Pecan, Red Pepper and Couscous stuffing in Red Capsicum Sauce - most of its prices are down-home at under $15. Food is delivered in attractive see-through containers, chilled for microwaving or freezing.

Advisory: Gets my vote for most useful new local website of the year.

AND OUT ... Auckland Restaurants

Just as elegantly executed is this latest guide to eating out in the Big Town. Lindsay Neill's "small but perfectly formed business" allies considerable style with admirable economy of means. But it is still very limited in its range, and I found its stars-and-bars price-guide on the Masterlist impenetrable. Nonetheless, a nice addition to dining out in and around Auckland.

Advisory: Could be the basis of a much larger project.

BEST PROPERTY: Property Look

Launching today, a handy new guide to the Australasian commercial property market. Its range and functionality are reasonably good and will certainly improve. Its useful Quick Look search facility - is there absolutely nothing in the Hotel/Leisure category in the greater Auckland area, should I have a small motel in mind? - is a plus.

Advisory: Like its graphics, not entirely in focus yet but well worth a visit.

* petersinclair@email.com


Links


BBC World Service

COMFM

Fresh Air

Storm Live

Youth Radio

San Francisco's War Memorial Opera House

American Federation of Television and Radio Artists

Clear Channel Communications

Urban Gourmet

Auckland Restaurants

Property Look