Photos and a longer recap of last night’s show are coming, as soon as I can get a Flickr Pro account.

So, this week ASCAP (one of the big performing rights organizations that collects, among other things, radio and TV royalties for songwriters) rolled out a licensing plan that includes podcasting. The plan is already getting bashed. Stanford law student Joe Gratz points out that ASCAP might be exceeding its authority, because it only handles fees for “performances” of songs. Streaming audio is a performance. Podcasts are downloads, which are physical copies. Joe’s point is ASCAP’s license doesn’t mean squat.

But here’s the part that really worries me as a musician. Matt May, who runs the increasingly popular and influential Stacatto podcast, tries to puzzle out all the crazy licenses needed to run his podcast legally in the wake of the ASCAP announcement. His conclusion: you can muddle your way through all the fees, or go with an alternative licensing system like Creative Commons.

Why does this worry me? Because the majority of songwriters I’ve talked with are still more concerned about “having my song ripped off” or “people stealing my music” than anything else. I keep telling people: stop worrying about piracy and start worrying about obscurity. My biggest fear is not that someone might be stealing my songs, but that no one knows I have songs worthy of their attention, let alone worth stealing.

It’s very likely that most podcasters, MP3 blogs and niche internet radio will simply give the finger to the whole PRO system entirely and go with Creative Commons-licensed content or something similar. And if they do, those musicians who still cling to the old model will be doubly boned, because not only will they be closing themselves off from a new, fast-growing alternative media form — they still won’t be getting radio play.

It’s just stupid. Commercial radio typically has zero interest in unproven artists. Now comes along a lively alternative channel, with lots and lots of potential listeners, one that actually prides itself on its DIY and indie ethic and championing new and unheard music and — what, you’re upset because they don’t want to play by commercial radio rules? Hey, good luck storming the castle!

The part that really sends me into shivering fits is that a some of these same musicians really do believe the internet is going to save us all, magically granting us careers as pop stars — so long as no one can ever make a free copy of a song, ever. Arrgh.

UPDATE: I think I just found my new tagline! “Scott Andrew: Worth Stealing.”

Previously: More Impending Rawk!

Next: More Live Photos