Christmas Music 24/7 » News

Whose Line Is It Anyway? Song to Santa

Mike Clark — Sun, 18 Jul 2010 15:20:09 +0000

Here’s a classic clip from Whose Line Is It Anyway? Wayne Brady and Brad Sherwood sing a duet about SantaClaus and Donner the reindeer:

The Cost of ‘The 12 Days of Christmas’ 2009

Mike Clark — Fri, 18 Dec 2009 12:13:43 +0000

According to the PNC Christmas Price Index, buying each of the 12 items in “The Twelve Days of Christmas” carol, will cost you $21,466. And if you repeat gifts as the song progresses, it’ll et you back a modest $87,403.

PITTSBURGH, Nov. 30, 2009 — Thanks to the weak economy in 2009 the PNC Christmas Price Index increased by a modest 1.8 percent compared to last year in the whimsical economic analysis by PNC Wealth Management based on the prices of gifts in the holiday classic, “The Twelve Days of Christmas.”

According to the 26th annual survey, the price tag for the PNC CPI is $21,465.56 in 2009, just $385.46 more than last year. It is the smallest increase since 2002, when the index fell 7.6 percent.

The PNC CPI exceeds the U.S. government’s Consumer Price Index, the widely used measure of inflation calculated by the Bureau of Labor Statistics, which is down 1.3 percent this year.

Among the 12 gifts in the Index, three items fell measurably from last year while five increased in cost and four remained steady.

As part of its annual tradition, PNC Wealth Management also tabulates the “True Cost of Christmas,” which is the total cost of items gifted by a True Love who repeats all of the song’s verses. This holiday season, very generous True Loves will receive a bargain and pay $87,402.81 for all 364 gifts, a mere 0.9 percent increase compared to last year.

The sharp rise in gold prices proved to be the main contributor to the dramatic 42.9 percent jump to $499.95 for the Five Gold Rings. Typically when the value of the dollar decreases, as it has in the last year, investors buy more gold driving up prices.

The cost of the Seven Swans-a-Swimming, which generally provide the biggest swings from year to year in the PNC CPI, fell this year by 6.3 percent to $5,250 following last year’s eye-opening 33.3 percent rise. As the most volatile item in the Index, the swans are removed to determine the underlying inflation or core PNC CPI, which pushed the rate up 4.8 percent this year.

Live365 Broadcasting Rates Increased

Mike Clark — Tue, 04 Mar 2008 15:26:55 +0000

On March 3, 2008, Live365 announced new rates for personal webcasting. The new rates are designed to cover the Copyright Royalty Board rates announced in March 2007. The new rates are approximately three times as high as the old rates, so at this point I am not sure if the three stations that are currently VIP-only will be able to be opened up to non-VIP members this winter. I also was preparing to open several new stations in other genres, but those plans are now on hold as well.

Advent Conspiracy

Mike Clark — Mon, 17 Dec 2007 13:00:51 +0000

This video is powerful. More info at AdventConspiracy.org.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Mike Clark — Thu, 22 Nov 2007 13:41:45 +0000

I hope all of my listeners in America have a happy and safe Thanksgiving today. This is the earliest date possible for Thanksgiving, leading up to the longest Christmas season possible. Enjoy!

Christmas Music 24/7 Interviewed by FOX 5-DC

Mike Clark — Tue, 25 Sep 2007 20:01:56 +0000

Back in August I was interviewed by the local Fox affiliate, Fox-5 in Washington DC. I just found the report on their web site: Future Uncertain for Internet Radio.

Wil Wheaton: “RIAA, through SoundExchange, is lying to webcasters”

Mike Clark — Wed, 19 Sep 2007 02:26:04 +0000

Wil Wheaton, author, voiceover actor, actor, wrote today in RIAA, through SoundExchange, is lying to webcasters about Sound Exchange issuing a press release that 24 webcasters took them up on their deal. It’s a good article, with lots of good … Continue reading →

Must Read: Music Lawyer To SoundExchange: My Clients Did Not Authorize Lobbying Expenditures

Mike Clark — Wed, 08 Aug 2007 01:54:16 +0000

SoundExchange has been accused of breaking the law in their zealous lobbying for the CRB performance royalty rates. SoundExchange’s response was that the activity was authorized by the artists that are members of SoundExchange. The lawyer for the artists wrote … Continue reading →

“Radio Airplay Is Not Promotional” It isn’t?

Mike Clark — Tue, 31 Jul 2007 19:45:43 +0000

You know that March 2 Copyright Royalty Board decision that set in place a structure that I have to pay for every song I play a fraction of a cent, for every listener? The one that increases the expense of my Christmas station to $8000 on $1,100 in revenue? Now the recording labels and Marybeth Peters, Register of Copyrights in the U.S. Copyright office want to do a similar thing to over the air (AM/FM) radio! Read about if at Artists’ Message to Judiciary: “Radio Airplay Is Not Promotional”.

Christmas Music 24/7 Mentioned in the Washington Post

Mike Clark — Fri, 13 Jul 2007 13:48:05 +0000

I was interviewed by the Washington Post on Thursday afternoon. I’m mentioned at the end of the article Shaken Internet Radio Stations Face Specter of New Fees Sunday.

Welcome to those visitors who saw the station mentioned in the Post. My station is available right now. I’m not playing my regular playlist, I’m only playing songs that are greater than 6 minutes long. That helps reduce my exposure to the new royalty rates. I hope to be able to put my regular playlist back into rotation when the rates have officially been fixed.

You can listen to the station by using iTunes. Simply go to the Radio tab on the left, and then under Religious, double click “Christmas 24/7.” Or if you don’t use iTunes, visit Christmas Music at Live365 and click the Yellow Play button.