Source : St. John's Telegram

Musicians' rights must be protected by the country's telecommunications
regulator as it considers three bids for satellite radio licences, says the
music recording industry.

The Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission is holding
hearings this week into bids by three consortiums that all want to offer the
striking new radio technology on a subscription basis.

Satellite radio, growing in popularity in the United States and Europe,
promises crystal-clear sound and a wide range of choices with little or no
advertising.

But it raises many fundamental questions about Canadian content and how best
to support homegrown artists in a medium that doesn't recognize borders.

The technology can also open the door for outsiders to pirate music -
essentially stealing from artists, complains Graham Henderson, president of the Canadian Recording Industry Association.

Latent in this technology are very significant threats to creators of music,
Henderson said in an interview Tuesday.

Before it licenses any or all of the bidders, the CRTC should first demand
they put in place technology to prevent broad theft of music by listeners
building massive digital libraries of music, said Henderson.

His group is among a list of more than 30 interveners who want their opinions
heard on the new technology and the wide sweep of issues that it raises.

© St. John's Telegram