« Filibusters and arcane obstructions in the Senate | Home | Recent Comments | Categories | accidental mysteries: Ape Typologies »
Radio, RIAA: mandatory FM radio in cell phones is the future
[Quote]:
Music labels and radio broadcasters can’t agree on much, including whether radio should be forced to turn over hundreds of millions of dollars a year to pay for the music it plays. But the two sides can agree on this: Congress should mandate that FM radio receivers be built into cell phones, PDAs, and other portable electronics.
The Consumer Electronics Association, whose members build the devices that would be affected by such a directive, is incandescent with rage. "The backroom scheme of the [National Association of Broadcasters] and RIAA to have Congress mandate broadcast radios in portable devices, including mobile phones, is the height of absurdity," thundered CEA president Gary Shapiro. Such a move is "not in our national interest."
"Rather than adapt to the digital marketplace, NAB and RIAA act like buggy-whip industries that refuse to innovate and seek to impose penalties on those that do."
|
That seems a ridiculous mandate on so many levels. Why would I, as a consumer, want to buy it and why would a manufacturer want to make it?
Take a look at any mp3 player that has a built-in FM receiver. The receiver and related software do nothing but add to the size of the physical device. It just seems … like this article belongs on the pages of The Onion.
Ok, I have to admit that when I buy a mobile phone, a built-in FM radio is high on the list. I like to listen to radio. But mandate it? What for? This is ridiculous.