Thanks to Steve for permission to post the entire email to KYOURadio here. You’ll find it in the extended entry.

One note – I’m not terribly comfortable posting the details of a proposed deal with KYOURadio for placing The Roadhouse in a regular weekly rotation. However, this is now an open public discussion. I can hardly edit the stuff that I’m uncomfortable with and call it that. So, if my negotiation skills are less than par, don’t hammer me too hard …

Steve:

Thanks for taking the time to call me yesterday. I appreciated both that you understood the concerns Michael and I expressed in his Rock and Roll Geek Show, and that you feel strongly enough about The Roadhouse to offer a regular slot.

I gave this all some thought last night. I also contacted some other podcasters for whom I have a great deal of respect. Though I didn’t speak with them last night, all have agreed to talk through some of these issues in the next few days. One, in particular, has been a very vocal critic of your model and, with a  izeable readership/listenership, has brought a large audience on board with his views. I agree with his position on many of the issues, several of which are addressed below.

In general, these are some of my own concerns about the station. These are the specific concerns that prompted my comment on Michael’s show that I wouldn’t submit further shows to KYOU. You and I discussed a few of these yesterday.

1. The required registration/login for listeners is a process that actually prevents listeners from tuning in. While there may be some gain to the station from the demographics captured in the registration process, you’re losing far more listeners than you can imagine, simply by requiring a login to listen. In truth, if I didn’t have shows on the station, I’d never have bothered to register and listen. Both registration and login requirements for listeners need to be eliminated.
2. The requirement for an ActiveX browser component in order to listen to the stream should be eliminated. The station has received these shows in mp3 format. Most modern browsers understand how to handle mp3 files without the additional proprietary and security concerns introduced by the ActiveX component. The streaming url for the station should be pointed to a .pls file. All current mp3 players – both proprietary and open source – understand how to handle these files or can be easily configured to do so. In short, the stream has to be friendly for Firefox/Mozilla/Opera/Safari users as well as IE users.
3. KYOU currently provides no direct feedback to the content providers, short of a minimal forum. There are no direct links to the websites nor to email for the provider. I’d suggest an additional page for the site that lists all the shows currently in the rotation – something aside from the "Lineup" link. This page can be an alphabetical listing of the shows in the rotation for the day, and should contain a brief bio provided by each podcast producer and links to the podcast website, email and subscription feed. A link in the current Lineup page can point to "More information on this show" – the additional page I’ve suggested.
4. For local San Francisco listeners, each show should be verbally intro’d and outro’d with the name of the show, the name of the show host, the show website and email addresses.
5. Podcasters should be compensated in some way. For longer shows, this might be a percentage cut of advertising sold for the show. For shorter shows, it could simply be a flat per-show fee. Podcasts with existing advertisers would keep those advertisers and any revenues generated.
6. You currently provide no feedback to podcasters regarding the scheduling of shows. This is a rather large promotional hole on your part. By notifying a podcaster that his/her show is airing at specific times on specific days, you provide that podcaster with the necessary tools to "self-promote" via their own web site and rss feeds. In other words, I can’t really tell my listeners when my show is airing on KYOU because I don’t know. If I did, many of those listeners would grab onto the stream. This could be resolved by sending an email with a daily schedule to all podcasters on that schedule no later than two days prior to airing.
7. Indemnification in your current license is entirely one-sided. This should instead stipulate that both parties indemnify and hold harmless the other.
8. It is a bit onerous that, though Infinity is clearly screening these podcasts, they will basically disavow the show for any action taken by the FCC based on show content. This is a provision of the licensing that has truly rubbed the podcast community the wrong way. If this is, as billed, a partnership between Infinity and podcasters, Inifinity should be willing to step up and defend the content they’ve pre-screened prior to airing. And, of course, this needs to be formalized in the license.
9. The upload process must provide feedback to the uploader that the content has been received. As you know, I uploaded one show more than once because I had no confirmation that it had actually been received. For shows you’re scheduling in regular weekly slots, more direct server access via FTP, sftp or scp should be provided. These protocols would streamline regular show uploads and do provide some visual cues that the upload has been successful.
10. A further web presence could and should be provided by KYOU to the providers of shows that have been selected for regular airing. This can be a simple blog or forum interface within the KYOURadio domain that will serve as a visible and public forum for discussion of the individual show. These show-specific forums will provide a wealth of information and feedback from listeners on the individual shows.
11. An advisory board comprised of podcasters should be established to advise and consult with KYOURadio/Infinity on its podcast programming. Simply put, it’s impossible for KYOURadio/Infinity to successfully jump into the podcasting universe without qualified insight into the current state and future direction of the medium. That’s especially true in this gray area between the new medium of podcasting and and the old medium of broadcasting. Such an advisory board would help to better define that gray area both for podcasters and for future migration to the new medium by traditional broadcast outlets. As we discussed yesterday, a failure by Infinity to make this transition successfully will stifle similar attempts by other traditional outlets in the future. "If Infinity can’t make it work, how can we?" In that regard, I believe it’s in everyone’s interest that it succeed.

Those items address the general concerns. As for The Roadhouse, in particular, the following is a list of the items I’d hope to see in order for KYOURadio to air the show weekly.

1. Items 1-4 above need to be addressed and resolved.
2. Compensation: No less than $100 per show or 25% of advertising revenue generated from the show, whichever is more. KYOU should provide a certified notice of advertising revenue, including advertisers and per-advertiser revenue, no later than the 7th of each month. I will invoice on the 15th for the previous month’s shows or for the compensatory advertising revenues. Payment terms will be net 30, with an additional 5% per month after 30 days.
3. I would need to keep 100% of any advertising revenue I generate independently, and KYOURadio will agree to air those ads unedited and in their entirey as part of the show.
4. The licensing agreement would need some alteration.
a. I would explicitly retain complete creative control of the show, but would grant KYOURadio the right to use edited sections of the show for promotional purposes only.
b. KYOURadio/Infinity would agree to provide a defense against any FCC action taken as a result of the show. You would retain the right to screen the content of each show in its entirey and the ability to decline to air any single show. I would agree to indemnify and hold harmless KYOURadio/Infinity against any other actions taken against me as a result of the show.
5. The licensing agreement would be rolled into a six-month contract outlining the other items. We would need to revisit the agreement at the end of that six-month period based on advertising revenues and the position of KYOURadio in the San Francisco market during the weekly time slot chosen for The Roadhouse. Streaming traffic during the regular Roadhouse time slots will be considered in this renegotiation, as well.
6. KYOURadio/Infinity will establish the advisory board noted above within 90 days.
7. I will be given direct access to the KYOURadio server via ftp or sftp in order to upload each week’s show.

That’s a lot to digest, but I think it hits the high points, both in general and personally.

One more item – I’d like to request your permission to post this email in its entirety on my site at http://www.roadhousepodcast.com/. This is a large and important issue in the podcasting community. The public discussion that will follow such a posting can only be beneficial to both of us, though it most certainly won’t all be complimentary. In short, if you’re looking to establish a truly open source relationship with the podcasting community – good or bad – it’s time to unambiguously open the doors. I believe the content of this email will provide the catalyst for that discussion.

Thanks, Steve. I’ll look forward to hearing from you.
—
Tony Steidler-Dennison
  Linux Systems Engineer
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