On my way to work this morning I heard KCRW, my usual radio station, do one of their subscriber ticket giveaways -- for people listening over the web to KCRW.com in New York City. 1,200 subscribers in NYC, they said.

I hope hope hope this is where radio, and music in general, is going -- decentralization, one local station able to send out their signal on the Web for anyone to pick up anywhere in the world --

-- that has Internet access. One drawback: a computer with internet access is generally more expensive and less portable than a radio. But maybe someone will figure out a clever way to solve that too: devices whose sole purpose is to act as Internet radios, perhaps? I know absolutely nothing about how this would work. I'm just spouting off.

It's ridiculous for the FCC to use that, as I heard Michael Powell doing, as an excuse to let companies keep consolidating the old-school broadcast stations. But at least it's true that it might help counterbalance consolidation eventually, if web radio really gets going.

musicians selling their songs themselves, over websites and at live shows. independent web radio station DJs playing a song because they LIKE IT, just like earlier days. grassroots interactions instead of hierarchical marketing machines. that's my own personal preference, is all. we'll see what happens.

copyright 2003 carrie lynn king.