Radio Consolidation

The Good Kind of Feedback (Musicians and Speech, Pt. II)

Yesterday, we told you a little bit about FMC's fight for artists' free speech and right to creative expression via a legal brief on the FCC's indecency policy. Well, we're at it again — this time in the form of FCC reply comments to a MusicFIRST petition originally filed with the Commission back in August. read more

FMC Reply Comments in MusicFIRST's Petition to the FCC

Future of Music Coalition (FMC) respectfully submits these Reply Comments in the above captioned proceeding regarding MusicFIRST?s Petition for a Declaratory Ruling Regarding the Actions of Certain Radio Broadcasters in Opposition to the Performance Rights Act.1 FMC has a long history of supporting the passage of legislation that would establish a public performance right for sound recordings that would ensure that performers are compensated when their work is played over the air, but more importantly we are especially troubled by allegations that artists have been threatened with a loss of airplay as a result of their willingness to engage in a public policy debate. We appreciate the Commission?s attention to this important matter.

FMC's Kristin Thomson Talks Indie Access on Mediageek Radioshow

On Tuesday, July 9, FMC's Kristin Thomson -- author of "Same Old Song," FMC's latest report(s) on indie music on the airwaves -- gave an interview on the Mediageek Radioshow.On Tuesday,

Mediageek is a weekly half-hour syndicated public affairs radio program covering grassroots and independent media, hosted and produced by Paul Riismandel at WNUR 89.3 FM on the campus of Northwestern University in Evanston, IL. Mediageek can be heard throughout Chicago and the northern suburbs, and also on the web. read more

Commercial Radio Plays the Same Old Songs

Mediageek Radioshow

July 9, 2009

Nearly four years ago the four largest commercial radio owners promised to play more independent music as part of FCC consent decrees resulting from recent payola investigations. Future of Music Coalition has been tracking radio playlists to see if commercial stations have been keeping their promises. FMC?s Kristin Thomson joins the Mediageek Radioshow to discuss the situation.

San Francisco and the State of Local Radio

By Eric K. Arnold

SF Weekly

June 30, 2009

According to an April 29, 2009 report by the Future of Music Coalition entitled “Same Old Song” , in the two years since FCC fines were levied against corporate radio for payola — resulting in those stations promising to play both more local and independent artists — “the report indicates almost no measurable change in station playlist composition over the past four years.”

FMC Releases "Same Old Song" Playlist Analysis Report

Have you ever been scanning through the music rags at your local bookstore/music retailer/coffee emporium/tchotchke outlet and wondered, "why do I never hear this band that's on the cover of all of these magazines on my local radio station?"

We've scratched our heads about this, too.
There are quite a few independent acts out there that are successful by pretty much any other measure -- they sell out venues, play Saturday Night Live, can be heard on movie soundtracks, TV shows and commercials yet never seem to crack commercial radio playlists. After a while you start wondering if there's a reason. Turns out there is -- it's just sort of complicated. read more

Clear Channel Gets Local. Sort Of. Maybe. Not Really.

Yesterday, Clear Channel sent out two press releases that seemed to contradict each other on some pretty fundamental levels. The first described a "commitment" to a "higher minimum level of service" in the communities in which its stations operate." read more

FCC Gets its Data On?

This morning, FMC staff attended an "Open Agenda" meeting at the Federal Communications Commission that outlined steps the agency would take to expand broadband, determine competition in the video marketplace and collect data on female and minority ownership among broadcast station owners.

If there was one theme to emerge from the meeting, it was the need for the agency to do a better job of collecting and analyzing data on the industries it's charged with regulating. (This is something many public interest groups -- including FMC -- have been saying for years.) read more

Payola and Indie Access to Commercial Airwaves

As part of our ongoing work to improve the state of terrestrial radio and create more opportunities for artists to reach potential audiences, FMC has worked closely with the American Association of Independent Music (A2IM) — a group that represents a broad coalition of independent labels — to determine whether independently-released music is reaching the commercial airwaves. A new survey of A2IM label members found that indie labels are still having difficulty getting airplay on commercial radio.

Employment and Wage Effects of Radio Consolidation

Peter DiCola, Research Director, Future of Music Coalition

Wednesday, August 9, 2006

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