Two Words For Why Your Radio Sucks: Clear Channel

[Marxist]

I use to love to listen to the radio when I was a kid. I had no idea what Peaches and Herb or REO Speedwagon or Chaka Khan were singing about but I loved to listen. I liked to call in and request songs and talk with the DJ's.

But times have changed. Sure you can still call in your request. Unless it's a college radio station though you probably have little chance of getting that song you want played. Why? Because most of the commercial stations on the air are being programmed by remote. What do I mean? Follow the link to Salon's expose on the MEGACORP looking to control concert ticket prices and venues, subvert payola laws, and generally make sure TeenPop and bad PopCountry rules.

God, I miss 1991.

http://www.salon.com/ent/clear_channel/

 

[Rubyfruit]

A few years ago, I called a station in Santa Barbara - a small jazz station. The DJ answered and we ended up talking for an hour. He put me on hold when he had to go on air. Then he asked me out. LOL We had a couple of dates, but didn't really hit it off. He was nice though.

Ruby

 

[Marxist]

Ruby, I don't think anyone could turn you down, programmed or not.

From the article:

By Eric Boehlert

April 30, 2001 | In the late 1990s, while no one was looking, a corporate behemoth became the largest owner and biggest force in America's most venerable mass medium: commercial radio.

Radio stations that once were proudly local are now being programmed from hundreds of miles away. Increasingly, the very DJs are in a different city as well.


Want your record played on one of those stations? Be prepared to pay -- dearly -- for the privilege. Want your band's concert to be sponsored by a radio station? Be careful: If you pick a competitor, the behemoth might pull your songs off its playlists overnight -- from two, 10, 100 stations.

Looking for classy radio programming? Don't look here. The company is known for allowing animals to be killed live on the air, severing long-standing ties with community and charity events, laying off thousands of workers, homogenizing playlists and a corporate culture in which dirty tricks are a way of life.

Welcome to the world of Clear Channel -- radio's big bully.

 

[Shy Tall Guy]

Welcome to the world of Clear Channel -- radio's big bully.

True or not, the market still drives what is offered. For one thing there are a number of alternatives to radio controlled by such people - I am listening to one of those right now; one of the music channels from my satellite TV reciever. Another alternative venue is the internet where a lot of different artists are seen and heard that would never be heard via the normal channels.

I don't know whether Clear Channel controls DTV music channels, but they surely don't control the internet, and there are a lot more types of music than just rock & roll.

Right now my DTV reciever just switched to another channel - so I am going to watch a Alanis Morissette concert in Las Vegas.

 

[modest mouse]

I gave up on traditional radio long ago.

When the laws were changed by Congress to allow a large company to own more than just a handful of stations...it went directly agains the requests of the FCC. The FCC has continually said the law is a selling out of the American people to coporate dollars.

A while back there was a bill before Congress which would have opened up the regulations on low power stations. Essentially makeing it legal to spend around a thousand dollars ans broadcast from your garage. The FCC was strongly behind the bill. It ended up getting compromised to death and I believe dies a quiet death without ever being voted on.

Money Talks.

While it is not quite the same, there is some great programmin on internet radio stations, its a matter of finding it.

 

[Mischka]

I wasn't aware the problem was so pervasive. Thanks for the link, Marxist. I tried to find further information about the antitrust lawsuit filed in Denver against Clear Channel, but it's still in its infancy. For anyone interested in finding out which stations Clear Channel controls in your area, here's the link to their site. Just type in your city, and it'll pop out a list:

http://www.clearchannel.com/radio/index.html

 

[Marxist]

True or not, the market still drives what is offered. For one thing there are a number of alternatives to radio controlled by such people - I am listening to one of those right now; one of the music channels from my satellite TV reciever. Another alternative venue is the internet where a lot of different artists are seen and heard that would never be heard via the normal channels.

I don't know whether Clear Channel controls DTV music channels, but they surely don't control the internet, and there are a lot more types of music than just rock & roll.

Right now my DTV reciever just switched to another channel - so I am going to watch a Alanis Morissette concert in Las Vegas.

The difference between DTV and traditional radio is that you're paying upfront for the service. I don't know if Clear Channel has gotten involved in this but what makes you think they wouldn't? They are involved in every piece of the music and communication pie.

The internet is nice but artists have to get paid at some point whether it's on tour (Clear Channel) or up front in a bonus of the recording contract (based on popularity, directly attributable to radio play and concert draw).

Like MM, I believe the system has to be defeated and big money circumvented.

 

[kotori]

Were these the same "people" who decided after 9-11-01 that some songs might not be "appropriate," songs like Blowing in the Wind?

Three words:

En. Pee. Are.

 

[Shy Tall Guy]

The difference between DTV and traditional radio is that you're paying upfront for the service. I don't know if Clear Channel has gotten involved in this but what makes you think they wouldn't? They are involved in every piece of the music and communication pie.

I did not read all of the related articles, but the initial article seem to infer they were only involved in rock & roll. As I stated there are a lot of other music categories.

Like MM, I believe the system has to be defeated and big money circumvented.

Sounds like the old conspiracy theory fallacy to me - I believe the open market will prevail, and that "big money" doesn't always prevail - if it did IBM would be providing us with operating systems and applications, not some Harvard drop out who started his biz in a garage with a five thousand dollar loan from his mom.

BTW, I do not buy music based on how many times I hear it - I buy it based on how I like it, and that is often based on looking at what others recommend who like what I like, or on my exploring the racks in music stores. Sure that can be affected by control of radio - but I almost never listen to radio anymore.

 

[Mischka]

That was an urban legend, kotori. But they still dominate the rock market, and that blows. Some of us are just not that musically inclined - I don't have time to search every nook and cranny to find the latest music. I used to like getting ideas from one of the local radio stations, before Clear Channel took them over and discontinued playing all local and independent musicians.

 

[Marxist]

STG-- You've got to read the articles. In them you'll find that Clear Channel operates as a TRUE MONOPOLY. Isn't this what the market economy despises? Here, read this from their own website:

Reaching over 110 million listeners in the U.S. every week

U.S. Radio Highlights:
· Stations take to the airwaves in all 50 states
· Approximately 1,170 U.S. radio stations
· In 47 of top 50 markets
· Approximately 240 radio stations outside the U.S.
· Premiere Radio Networks reaching over 180 million listeners weekly
· Katz Media Group represents over 2,000 radio stations

Clear Channel is radio.

One out of every ten radio stations across the United States broadcasts under the Clear Channel’s banner and the company’s approximate 1,170 stations bill a full 20% of total industry revenue. No one is bigger, better or more intense than Clear Channel Radio. And no one takes radio more seriously. Clear Channel broadcasts in every top ten market and in 47 of the top 50. These stations take to the airwaves across all 50 states, in almost every major market, reaching nearly every demographic with dozens of distinct formats from News/Talk to New Wave. Clear Channel radio stations generated nearly half of total company revenue in fiscal year 2000.

Clear Channel’s mission is to broadcast the best programming to the broadest audience providing the best value to advertisers. The company’s Programming Dream Team helps transfer the sound of big market programming to small market stations…and uses technology to keep the flavor local. Outstanding listenership is proof that audiences gravitate toward the best: Clear Channel stations broadcast to over 110 million listeners every week. Arbitron® ratings for Clear Channel radio stations deliver constant feedback on how we’re doing. Strong ratings generate strong advertising demand. Advertisers can pinpoint their targeted demographics at a fraction of the cost of traditional print advertising. If we have anything to say about it, newspapers will soon be useful only to those training puppies.


Clear Channel made radio history in the year 2000, collecting strategic acquisitions and completing mergers designed to provide the company with a unique, unduplicated collection of assets that cannot be reproduced at any price. In late August Clear Channel announced the long anticipated merger with AMFM Radio, Inc. The largest radio merger in history was completed on August 30th, nearly doubling the Clear Channel radio station portfolio. Clear Channel became the first…and only…Radio Company to own more than 900 radio stations. AMFM brought strong radio stations and a large market presence to the Clear Channel table. In addition, Katz Media joined the Clear Channel family with the AMFM merger, along with Chancellor Marketing.

Just prior to the AMFM closing, Clear Channel acquired SFX Entertainment, the world’s largest promoter and producer of live entertainment events, including concerts, theatre and sporting events. The entertainment giant brought 120 live entertainment venues in 31 of the Top 50 markets to the Clear Channel party, including 16 owned and operated amphitheaters in the top 10 markets. The opportunities for synergies among all these Clear Channel divisions are explosive…and are in the very early innings.

- Randy Michaels

I ask you, is that paranoia?

 

[Marxist]

That was an urban legend, kotori. But they still dominate the rock market, and that blows. Some of us are just not that musically inclined - I don't have time to search every nook and cranny to find the latest music. I used to like getting ideas from one of the local radio stations, before Clear Channel took them over and discontinued playing all local and independent musicians.

It was partly true, kinda. Here's the whole story.

No. 1 radio chain didn't ban songs

By Steve Jones, USA TODAY

Radio stations have been more sensitive about the songs that they play in the aftermath of last week's terrorist attacks. But reports of lists of songs being banned from the airwaves have been exaggerated. Stories about a list of nationally banned songs stemmed from a meeting of some Clear Channel Communications program directors in the immediate aftermath of the tragedies, discussing what to air in this situation. Clear Channel spokeswoman Pam Taylor says the industry giant — which operates 1,213 radio stations that span all formats — never issued any directive about what stations could or should play. Instead, the list was developed from suggestions about potentially offensive songs that depicted graphic violence; referenced falling, explosions, or plane crashes; or seemed too celebratory of New York.

Taylor says the list was circulated among stations in the company's Western division but was not any kind of mandate. The free-ranging list — which was widely circulated on the Internet — included such diverse titles as Metallica's Seek and Destroy; AC/DC's Safe in New York; Bobby Darin's Mack the Knife; Peter, Paul and Mary's Leaving on a Jet Plane; Jerry Lee Lewis' Great Balls of Fire; and The Drifters' On Broadway.

"This was an effort to help people be sensitive to the unthinkable environment. It's been somehow turned into some sort of evil attempt to control pop music, and that's absurd," Taylor says.

Bob Buchmann, program director of Clear Channel station WAXQ in New York, says that many of the songs on the list, including John Lennon's Imagine, were just what listeners wanted to hear.

Tuesday morning, he says, his classic-rock station observed a moment of silence, dedicated several minutes to songs in keeping with the mood and then began easing back into the songs it would usually play.

Darryl Huckaby, program director of Radio One's Washington-area WKYS, says his urban station has been affected more by the inspirational songs it has added. The only song that raised a red flag was the 1994 hit Juicy by the Notorious B.I.G., which includes the line "Time to get paid, blow up like the World Trade" — a reference to the 1993 bombing.

Huckaby says program directors at Radio One's 65 stations talked about being cognizant of frayed feelings, but no other songs were singled out. Psalms 23, a song by gospel star and station executive Jeff Majors, was fashioned into a tribute using event sound bites.

"Program directors are using their own discretion right now," Huckaby says.

 

[~melia~]

Clear Channel owns all but one of the radio stations in my area...the one i listen to. What bugs me about CC is that your chances of actually winning all these great vacations and prizes is that you have to compete with every CC station listener in the US. It sucks. The station I listen to is privately owned, and probably the most popular in my area. Last year they gave away a big vacation, and the consolation prize was CC stock. LOL