WISee - May 07 - D2Nott

What I See - May⁰⁷ by D2Nott

"couple words and like peaches and herb We'll be reunited and it feels so hood Have the whole world saying "How you still so good?" Well I do this in my slumber summer I ain't none of these half-assed newcomers, you know how I do summer I drop heat, when you bring the sun up" -Jay-Z "Dear Summer"

With temperatures rising and summer releases set to hit the shelves soon seems like the weather and gas prices aren't the only things changing. The game changes everyday, everyone adding a new spin on the world we live in. With rock n roll starting to influence mainstream hip hop once again with the Shop boys "Party like a Rockstar", wallet chains and even Lil Wayne rapping over Prince samples on his latest project "The Carter III" are some examples.

The Wall Street Journal reported in an article "Sales of Music, Long in Decline, Plunge Sharply"; there's much to and fro about what's behind the drop. In a dramatic acceleration of the seven-year sales decline that has battered the music industry, compact-disc sales for the first three months of this year plunged 20% from a year earlier, the latest sign of the seismic shift in the way consumers acquire music. The sharp slide in sales of CDs, which still account for more than 85% of music sold, has far eclipsed the growth in sales of digital downloads, which were supposed to have been the industry's salvation.

For investors, the lesson is that it's tough to buck the odds. Established players almost always fail to adapt to change. It's the nature of a free market.  WSJ story about music sales reminded me of the accelerating drop in old-fashioned film sales that Kodak has experienced over the past few years. So you won't be surprised to learn that if you look at the five-year stock market performance of the 130 or so sub-industry sectors tracked by Morningstar, radio, film and TV producers, broadcast TV, advertising and media conglomerates are five of the 12 worst performers, the very worst.

Large digital media companies, small Webcasters and National Public Radio on Wednesday asked a federal appeals court to stall controversial new fees scheduled to kick in next month. In a filing with the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit, the Webcasters argued new royalty rates scheduled to take effect July 15 are "radical and arbitary" and requested an emergency stay of the decision by a three-judge copyright panel.

The Save Net Radio Coalition, whose members include prominent Net radio operators RealNetworks, Yahoo, Pandora and Live365, said it hoped the move will allow Congress more time to act on two similar proposals that would reverse the royalty rate increases. The new rules, announced in March by the U.S. Copyright Royalty Board, enjoy support from the record industry group SoundExchange, which collects the payments and maintains the changes, ..."

• Read More.. Webcasters ask court for delay in fee increases
• SaveNetRadio.org