Interesting CARP Timeline

There is a Very Interesting Timeline of the CARP rulings over on linuxjournal. CARP sets royalty rates for web sites that are streaming radio stations. The royalty rates are so high that pretty much every web radio station will be driven out of business. I had assumed that was the RIAA’s plans, and I still sort of think it was. But, the linked story says that it was broadcast.com who wanted to stifle competitors while being able to take advantage of some loopholes in the deal.

Why can’t we get people who understand this stuff to regulate this stuff? It can’t be that hard. I don’t expect the powerbrokers to be clued into every nuance, but their aides should understand this stuff shouldn’t they?