Umm online "radio" legal?

[Gargen]

ok well i have a site dedicated to programming and graphic design but i figure alot of people like music so why not put something with like 30 or so songs on a loop and change it out every week or so just you know keep my visitors there even after there done reading my latest tutorials but im just wondering if i were to play the music would there be any legal issues like me having to pay or what not if so im gonna scrap this it would be a nice thing to do but i cant afford to be paying out

[2by4]

If I went to a programming site and they were playing music I'd leave. I think most programmers already have music available to listen to, and besides, how do you know that they'll like the songs you loop. Silence is golden, especially on programming websites. If I want to listen to good online music I know where to go to get it.

[mcavic]

Ditto, but for all web sites.

[Raymond]

You are supposed to pay for each and every song every time you broadcast to the copyright owner. But most likely no body would care when your site is small, but when the site starts getting popular, you will get in trouble.

Having that said, I would leave any programming site that play music. This is so homepage from 1995.

[Gargen]

ok thx for clearing that up and im not saying they enter the site and music goes on im saying there would be a link to a radio page you know just if someone is bored, i was gonna take submissions from my writers/mods/admins but i dont wanna risk getting sued or anything so i think im gonna 86 this one

[Marketing Guy]

Had a small record label client that used sample tracks from their artists which could be played on a persistant mock up of a MP3 player in the navigation - worked really well.

Playing music on personal homepages may be so 1995, but so is thinking inside the proverbial box! ;)

If you can implement the feature tastefully (ie give the user control over what is played) and dont break any legal boundaries with regards the tracks you play, then there's no reason not to go for it, at least on a limited basis to see how your visitors react to it.

[abbeyvet]

small record label client

site dedicated to programming and graphic design

Apples and oranges. The point of one is music, users would think it weird if there was none, on a programming site most users would think it weird if there was. Gratuitious music is the irritating one.

[mblair]

My initial thought was the same but then I started thinking about it and, if it was unobtrusive, some kind of song feed -- like a "tunes to code by" feature where people get to add to some kind of community playlist might work with the right type of community.

[4string]

There are some sites that allow you to broadcast your own playlists on your site and they pay the royalties on your behalf.

Or, why not find some unsigned bands that are willing to let you play their music for free. It'd be good exposure for them and free and legal for you. (I guess "win/win" is also so 1995.)

[Marketing Guy]

It's not apples and oranges at all. Being into graphics for example doesn't exclude you from liking music. A tasteful and tactful optional feature for your visitors can go a long way, even if it's not related to your core focus.

You only need to look here at the Friday word game or any other Foo thread to see that.

Visitors aren't a demographic solely occupied with what your core business offers and the sooner people begin to realise that the better they will do. Obviously there is a line to draw where the frivilous extras detract from the core business, but I don't think that line has been crossed here (again, one of the reasons why WebmasterWorld doesn't do site reviews for example - the spam would detract from the core focus of the site).

I totally agree if the music was forced upon users of Gargen's site it would signal the end as most would hate it. But given the option in an unobtrusive way, it *could* work. Of course it could also be a non starter in which case - lesson learned, move on, and kudos for trying.

It's a good idea and it's great in this day and age to see people thinking about the extra things they can do for visitors to their site. Whether or not it makes a difference to the bottom line doesn't matter. If Gargen has the time, resources and comittment to do try this out, even on a trial basis, then there is zero reason not to try.

MG

[Beagle]

Had a small record label client that used sample tracks from their artists...

I'd think the big difference here would be that they had rights to their own music. Otherwise, you'd need to track how many times each song was played so your royalty payments would be correct--is that right?