The Electronic Frontier Foundation has discovered a provision buried in the proposed PERFORM Act that would "effectively require music webcasters to use DRM-laden streaming formats, rather than the MP3 streaming format used by Live365, Shoutcast, and many smaller webcasters (like Santa Monica's KCRW and Seattle's KEXP). The streaming radio stations included in iTunes also rely on MP3 streams (since Apple isn't about to license the Real or Microsoft streaming codecs)."

Independent streaming stations have already taken some hard knocks in the past, and requiring them to use closed solutions such as those offered by Real and Microsoft could put a tighter noose on choice in steaming audio. The costs associated with licensed commercial streaming solutions can be daunting at best and prohibitive at worst for smaller streaming stations or networks.

I would also suspect that this end-to-end DRM requirement would effectively make podcasting major label music impossible. Even with the proper licensing and mechanical rights fees paid in full, MP3 is the format of choice for podcasters because of wide device compliance. I suppose DRM'ed AAC format podcasts could be produced using major label music, but that would sure put the "i" in podcast.

via EFF:Deeplinks