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The Courts, Intellectual Property and the Internet Subcommittee of the House Judiciary will hold its first hearing on comprehensive copyright review this afternoon. It's to be the first in a series of hearings "to determine whether the copyright laws are still working in the digital age to reward creativity and innovation," says Judiciary chairman Bob Goodlatte (R-VA).

In March (RAIN coverage here) Register of Copyrights for the U.S. Copyright Office Maria Pallante went public with her intention to push Congress for copyright reform, focusing mostly on the Digital Millennium Copyright Act. Late last month Goodlatte (RAIN coverage here) promised a comprehensive review of U.S. copyright law by his committee.

Today's hearing is called "A Case Study for Consensus Building: The Copyright Principles Project." It will focus on a whitepaper from a group called the Copyright Principles Project (which is online here).

The CPP document, according to TechDirt (here), "looked at 25 possible areas for reform," and "was put together by a wide variety of folks from different backgrounds."

Not enough different backgrounds, according to an editorial in Politico here. Musician David Lowery criticizes that, "There are no creators involved in the Copyright Principles Project at all! The Internet has democratized creativity, but this group of Big Tech and Big Media companies and the lawyers and academics who love them is about as undemocratic a 'consensus' as any artist could imagine."

Goodlatte said, "The Committee is not endorsing the specific recommendations of the Copyright Principles Project. However, it is my hope that this hearing will help demonstrate how interested parties can come together to discuss copyright issues in a productive way."

Goodlatte, Judiciary Ranking Member John Conyers (D-MI), subcommittee Chairman Howard Coble (R-NC), and subcommittee Ranking Member Mel Watt (D-NC) have released statements in advance the hearing here.

As expected, Google formally announced its new online music subscription service, Google Play Music All Access today at its Google I/O developer conference.

The company is touting the service as "radio without rules," according to The Verge. It reports the All Access service "allows users to create radio stations from particular artists — providing comparable functionality without any of the limitations," but went into no further detail. One might assume the "functionality" is "comparable" to Pandora and other such services, but "without any of the limitations" of the statutory webcast license, which prohibits on-demand song plays, going backwards in a stream to re-hear a song, etc. (We delved a little further into these matters yesterday here.) 

By and large, it's music subscription of the Spotify/Rdio sort: $9.99/month unlimited on-demand access and playlist features, for computers and Android devices. Listeners can access both "local" music (which they have stored on their computer or handheld) as well as Google's streaming-available collection, as a single "master library." The service includes a "recommendation engine" to help listeners discover new music based on their preferences. Google is offering a 30-day free trial, and if you sign up by the end of June, it's just $7.99/month.

Read more from The Verge here.

Those who follow Internet radio -- like RAIN readers -- are likely familiar with Media UK managing director James Cridland. The self-described "radio futurologist" will give the featured presentation at RAIN Summit Europe (now less than two weeks away).

He was digital media director of Virgin Radio in London, and joined the BBC in 2007 to work on the BBC iPlayer for radio. Since then he's worked with various audio and new media companies (including receiver manufacturer Pure and stream aggregator UK Radioplayer) He organizes the nextrad.io radio conference, and is a founder of hybrid radio tech association RadioDNS.

Cridland's "The Future of Radio: Mobile and Personalised" will examine the medium's future on portable devices, in the context of case studies of broadcasters from all over the world.

Later in the afternoon Cridland (right) will return to moderate a panel discussion on a very similar topic. "Mainstream Mobile" participants will share their views on "best practices" for building listenership on mobile devices and monetizing it.

Two CEOs, both from Germany, join this panel. Based in Hamburg, Christian Richter leads Spoiled Milk, an international digital agency and consultancy on brand management and user experience. Richter (left) is a serial-entrepreneur: he's co-founder of Net radio tuning guide radio.de, and also founder of digital and marketing solutions wathory.com.

Holger Weiss is Berlin-based AUPEO! CEO. AUPEO! is personalized Internet radio with over 120 channels, available in over 40 countries. Weiss (right) joined AUPEO! in 2010 after working for Nokia. He's a specialist in business development, contract negotiations, strategic alliances, leadership, and sales. He spoke at RAIN Summit West.

Interestingly, just after RAIN Summit West, came news that AUPEO! had been acquired by Panasonic Automotive Systems Company of America (a division of Panasonic Corporation of North America and an integrated supplier to the automotive industry in North America) (see RAIN here). Hakan Kostepen (left, who also spoke at RAIN Summit West) is that company's executive director of product, planning & innovation. He's part of the leadership behind the company's in-car integration and development of all Panasonic Company technologies and products to optimize the "in-car user experience." Kostepen was responsible for "industry first" Jaguar S-Type Voice Recognition Infotainment System. He's based in the U.S.

Also an engineer by training, Ulrich Köring (right) is head of new media for Austrian hit music broadcaster Kronehit. There he handles all digital products, including the website, side-channels, podcasts, and social networks. His experience also includes work at Radioszene industry trade magazine.

"Mainstream Mobile's" final panelist is online audio distribution platform Soundcloud VP/business development Dave Haynes (left), from the UK. Soundcloud, originally started in Stockholm, but established in Berlin, launched in 2008 and now boasts over 10 million registered users. Hayes himself is a former DJ who has run a record label, a record store, and worked in digital music distribution. He writes a blog and hosts the OpenMusicMedia meetups in London, and organizes Music Hack Day events.

Limited space is still available for RAIN Summit Europe, May 23 at Brussels' Hotel Bloom. All the details, including registration links, are on the RAIN Summit Europe page here.

Webcaster and on-demand subscription service Slacker last week revealed it's reaping the fruits of its February relaunch in the form of surging audience growth. The company also claims it's attracting Pandora users shut out by that company's recent 40-hour/month listening cap on free mobile streams.

What's more, CEO Jim Cady says his company is "gross margin profitable" on every listener in part because "direct" royalty deals have made it less expensive for Slacker to license music than for its competitors.

In a press release, Slacker says since its February relaunch (including a redesign of its web site and mobile apps), more than six million new listeners have registered, including over 100-thousand paid subscribers. And the amount of time the average user listens has jumped 25%. Among new listeners, 3.5 million listen via mobile devices. Its user penetration on Apple devices has more than tripled.

Slacker partners for content with ABC Radio. Its general manager Steve Jones told USA Today, "Our audience has grown 3% to 4% every week since February. We're thrilled."

And they're ready to bring on even more users. According to paidContent, Slacker is close to sealing a deal with "a major telco provider" -- a move Cady predicts could be worth "millions of paid subscribers" to his service. Last week we covered news (here) that Slacker had entered a partnership with Vodaphone which would enable them to enter the UK market, but it's not clear if this is the deal of which paidContent wrote.

Early in March, leading webcaster Pandora announced, as an effort to reduce music royalties, it would limit mobile listeners to 40 hours per month of free, ad-supported listening (paid listening by subscribers is not limited, nor is listening on Pandora.com). While services make significantly less on advertising to mobile listeners, music licensing costs remain the same -- meaning heavy users of free ad-supported mobile streams are hardest to monetize for webcasters.

Cady says his service has gained listening partly due to Pandora's move. Adding to that, he tells numerous sources (like VentureBeat), Slacker's "proven business model" enables Slacker (unlike Pandora) "to monetize users with free accounts" -- even mobile users.

First, Slacker simply runs more ads than Pandora. Wedbush Securities analyst Michael Pachter explained this to USA Today: "Slacker is one-sixth the size of Pandora, and both run ads. Slacker does three minutes per hour, Pandora one per hour. It's that simple."

But perhaps even more interesting is that Cady (pictured) says his "direct deals" with record labels and publishers save the company big money. Slacker told Evolver.fm it doesn't pay SoundExchange -- the music industry body that collects and distributes royalties for those services that operate under statutory licenses. Slacker claims their direct deals enable them to pay a lower royalty than do SoundExchange customers (like Pandora).

Slacker, which launched its digital music service in 2010, has raised $50 million in investment. The company also recently expanded its operations, opening offices in Palo Alto, CA and New York.

Read more in coverage from paidContent here, USA Today here, VentureBeat here, and Evolver.fm here.

Make way for the big boys.

"Companies like Google, Apple and Facebook are eyeing the streaming and on-demand music business now dominated by smaller niche companies such as Pandora and Spotify. When they do -- and most analysts agree it's really just a matter of time -- they could give nearly everyone the ability to listen to whatever they want, whenever they want -- and mostly for free," wrote San Jose Mercury News' Heather Somerville yesterday.

If true, this brings up a whole host of issues, some of which Somerville explores, like the impact on artists, consumers' relationship with music, and others. But where does it leave Internet radio: both pureplays like Pandora, and music broadcasters who'll rely more and more on digital efforts to grow? Smaller companies will have to become even more creative and agile to offer a value proposition the larger companies can't -- a sort of "boutique" existence, catering to niche and local audiences. 

"There is no doubt that when companies this large enter into the field, it will be disruptive," Jonathan Handel, a media and entertainment attorney, told the paper.

Read more here.

There's (literally) a world of competition online, and RAIN Summit attendees are always looking for strategies to increase their service's share of the online audience. Several of Europe's leading online and broadcast radio experts will take up this very topice at RAIN Summit Europe, May 23 (that's in two weeks!) at Brussels' Hotel Bloom.

The "Growing Your Online Audience" panel will cover topics from simulcasting on-air content, customized online radio, and on-demand streaming.

Radionomy's Alexandre Saboundjian (left) and 7digital's Ben Drury (right) are both CEO of their respective companies, and will take part in the discussion. Calling itself "The Radio Experience," Radionomy provides a tech platform for amateurs and professionals to create their own online radio stations for free (the company even covers music licensing). When a station's audience reaches certain levels, Radionomy then shares advertising revenue with the station creater. Apparently a busy guy, Saboundjian also heads (and founded) MusicMatic (an in-store media company), and Jamendo (which is a platform for royalty-free music).

Ben Drury co-founded 7digital, a UK-based digital media company, which sells music downloads to consumers, but also provides branded products for traditional media companies, consumer brands, and social networking services. Some examples are powering Samsung's Music Hub, and the music store for Songbird. He also founded dotmusic.com, later acquired by Yahoo.

Kjartan Slette (at left, he's head of music at WiMP) and Steve Whilton (director of product at Last.fm, right) are both tasked with crafting a product that ensures audience growth. WiMP is an on-demand music streaming service with a library of 18 million tracks (and growing). Based in Oslo, the service employs local editors in the countries in which it's available (Norway, Denmark, Sweden, Germany, Poland and in the Netherlands) to help ensure it meets the demands of these different markets.

Last.fm, founded in the UK in 2002, is known for its music recommendation "scrobbling" system that integrates with other services, and for its online radio service and social networking features.

KISS FM and rs2 general manager Christian Schalt (left) is the panel's representative of the broadcast world. He's based in Berlin, from where KISS FM has been broadcasting nationwide as part of the Germany's DAB digital radio system. He's a career broadcaster with experience at Planet Radio in Frankfurt and Energy in Vienna. He was also Program Director for Kronehit, Austria's only national commercial radio station.

"Growing Your Online Audience" will be moderated by VP/Europe for RCS Sound Software, Sven Andræ. Sven's also experienced in broadcast radio, and later joined RCS to launch its Scandinavian division. RCS, of course, is the well-known (and largest) broadcast software company, with products at over 10-thousand stations worldwide. It's known for its music and promo scheduling, digital playout, automation control, and traffic and sales management software (Sven's pictured right).

The RAIN Summit Europe agenda also includes five "feature presentations" (that's not including Kurt Hanson's "State of the Industry"). One will be "The Do's and Don'ts of Social Media Branding," to present tactics for online radio to better encourage discussion among, and connection with, listeners.

Our social media expert making this presentation is Paula Cordeiro of Lisbon. She's the radio ombusdperson for Rádio e Televisão de Portugal (RTP), Portugal's public service broadcaster. A visionary of radio's future, she also coordinates the Radio Hub, which is a project for training, research, and radio production at the Universidade Técnica de Lisboa (where she lectures on radio and digital media).

This year's RAIN Summit Europe promises to top even last year's inaugural Berlin event. Space is still available for this year's event. All the details, including registration links, are on the RAIN Summit Europe page here.