Soma FM SF 10-33

SomaFM is an independent, listener-supported internet radio service operating entirely without commercial advertising. Its name derives from two sources: Soma, the fictional euphoric substance described in Aldous Huxley's 1932 novel Brave New World, and the South of Market district of San Francisco, commonly abbreviated SoMa. The station originated as a micropower broadcast at the Burning Man festival in 1999, launched by founder Rusty Hodge from his home in the Bernal Heights neighborhood of San Francisco. It transitioned to a full-time internet operation in February 2000. In 2002, SomaFM faced an existential challenge when the Digital Millennium Copyright Act's Copyright Arbitration Royalty Panel imposed retroactive per-song, per-listener royalty fees on internet broadcasters. Hodge estimated potential daily payments exceeding one thousand dollars. The station ceased broadcasting in June 2002. Hodge testified before the United States Congress as part of a coalition of webcasters seeking relief, and Congress subsequently passed the Small Webcaster Settlement Act of 2002 in November of that year, enabling smaller operators to negotiate reduced rates with SoundExchange. SomaFM resumed broadcasting the same month. The service expanded technically in 2005 through a partnership with Orban to deliver streams to 3G and EDGE mobile devices, making it among the first internet broadcasters to support mobile streaming. In June 2007, the station participated in the Internet Radio Day of Silence, a collective protest against royalty rate increases proposed by the Copyright Royalty Board. SomaFM operates more than thirty distinct channels, each curated by staff music directors and DJs. Channels span a broad range of genres and aesthetics, including ambient and downtempo programming under the Groove Salad brand, electronic and underground music, 1960s and 1970s-influenced pop, Brazilian bossa nova, tiki and vintage island sounds, and a dedicated channel produced in association with the DEF CON hacking conference.