In April 2007, the Federal Communications Commission and the nation’s four largest radio station group owners – Clear Channel, CBS Radio, Citadel and Entercom – signed a voluntary agreement as a response to collected evidence and widespread allegations about payola influencing what gets played on the radio. read more

In April 2007, the Federal Communications Commission and the nation’s four largest radio station group owners – Clear Channel, CBS Radio, Citadel and Entercom – signed a voluntary agreement as a response to collected evidence and widespread allegations about payola influencing what gets played on the radio. read more

This survey of A2IM label members conducted by investigative journalist Justin Jouvenal finds that indie labels are still having difficulty getting airplay on commercial radio. The report reveals near-unanimous sentiment among label owners: little has changed over the last year and a half, with 92 percent of label respondents describing their relationship to commercial radio as “the same” as before the Consent Decree and Voluntary Agreements. read more

Change That Tune looks at the history of payola, the development of the “indie promoter” system, the investigations by the New York State Attorney General and the FCC from 2003-2007, and the contents of the “Rules of Engagement” signed by the four largest radio companies to provide context of what it means for musicians and independent labels, and how artists are interacting with radio in the 21st century. read more

On December 13, 2006, FMC publicly released False Premises, False Promises – a report documenting the effects of radio station ownership consolidation on musicians and the public. Data in the report shows that station ownership consolidation at the national and local levels has led to fewer choices in radio programming and harmed the listening public and those working in the music and media industries, including DJs, programmers and musicians. read more

Using data from the Occupational Employment Survey of the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, this report written by FMC Research Director Peter DiCola examines the effects of radio consolidation on employment and wages for radio announcers, news reporters, and broadcast technicians. The report finds that, comparing figures across metropolitan areas, an increase in the number of stations per owner within a metropolitan area was associated with both lower employment levels and lower wages during the years 1996 to 2003. The study also shows that the job losses in radio impede federal policy mandates to promote localism and diversity in media. read more

In Spring 2004, FMC worked in partnership with the Pew Internet & American Life Project and an array of other musician-based organizations to conduct a balanced survey that gave musicians, performers and songwriters a chance to speak up about the Internet, file-sharing, and copyright issues. read more

In May 2003, FMC released the results of a content analysis of nearly 10,000 comments available for public review in the Federal Communications Commission Broadcast Ownership rulemaking (Docket 02-277). Citizen response to these proposed rule changes was overwhelmingly negative. As of May 8, 2003, 96.8 percent of citizens filing comments opposed changing existing media ownership rules that would pave the way for further consolidation. read more

On November 18, 2002 the FMC publicly released its report documenting the effects of radio station ownership consolidation on musicians and the public. This comprehensive analysis was conducted in partnership with Media Access Project and funded by a grant from the Rockefeller Foundation. read more