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  Trouble Down On The Farm

Low-power Fm radio station licenses, live Luna album

Jimmy & Doug's Farmclub.com — that Internet play attempted earlier this year by record executives Jimmy Iovine and Doug Morris — has fired 17 people, according to an Inside.com report. Here's a statement direct from the Farmclub, explaining why no one should think the firing of 15% of their staff indicates any problems down on the farm: "In one year, FarmClub.com, which includes a Web presence, a TV show and a record label, was built from the ground up. A large amount of manpower, particularly on the technology/systems side, was necessary to achieve this and build the infrastructure in such a short period of time. Having now developed one of the most successful new entertainment destinations, we are moving into a different phase of our evolution, which no longer requires the same level of staffing." Anyone actually in the Internet business knows that you never have enough quality tech/systems people, and that the rapid, continuous evolution of the Net makes ongoing upgrades a necessity. ... Some 255 community organizations have qualified for low-power FM radio station licenses, the New York Times reported on Friday (December 22, 2000). However, that's less than half the number of organizations — including schools and churches — that would have qualified if Congress hadn't buckled under pressure from corporate broadcasters, as well as National Public Radio. Congress has imposed "tightened technical standards" that must be met to qualify for a license, reports the Times. We think of it as keeping the sugar daddies happy. Some of the new stations will have, shall we say, interesting approaches to radio. In Sitka, Alaska a parks commissioner plans to "broadcast whale songs live," the Times reports. ... Luna will release a live album February 6, according to a Sonicnet report. Live! will include songs recorded at the 9:30 Club in Washington, D.C. and the Knitting Factory in New York. Luna will begin a U.S. tour at Boston's Middle East on December 30. [Friday, December 22, 2000]



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