I don’t know how many of you have been following the whole ordeal regarding the RIAA wanting the Internet radio stations to pay royalties, but basically that has turned into a situation where if they go forward, most webcasters are going to have to close. That means, more than likely, no more Pandora or any other srevices like it, at least as we know them.

In these proceedings, the webcasters’ argument has been “Why are we different from regular radio?” And today, the LA Times is reporting that the RIAA has responded with “Good point! They should have to pay too!” Seems that suing grandma’s and children hasn’t given them as big of a revenue stream as they would like.

My take… Good for them. A part of me says that they should make the restrictions increasingly over the top. As they get further and further restrictive, it makes indie artists and Creative Commons music that much more attractive. This could make radio stations start paying more attention to free music and playing them along side the major acts. Either way this is just one more example of the fact that the music industry as a whole is in a serious period of upheaval and eventually the market is going to work its way out in the consumers favor.