Small record labels say radio tunes them out

chas smith R.I.P. · Post by **chas smith R.I.P.** » 16 Sep 2001 1:03 pm

This is an excerpt from an article in the LA Times business section 9-16-01:

"For 40 years, federal law has prohibited broadcasters from accepting money or anything of value in exchange for playing songs without disclosing the practice to listeners. But a loose-knit cadre of independent promoters dodges the anti-payola law by paying broadcasters annual fees they say are not tied to airplay of specific songs

For their services, the promoters charge record companies as much as $4000 a song to obtain airplay for new releases, according to promoters and record executives. That costs the major labels an estimated $100 million a year...

The independent labels' fears are increasing because playlists are controlled by fewer and fewer programmers. the nation's biggest broadcaster, Clear Channel Communications Inc., recently limited the number of promoters with access to it's stations to six...

Radio programmers, in turn say they never play specific songs in return for money. At the same time, they say the annual fees and prizes provided by independent promoters are crucial to their bottom lines..."

The record industry is a $40-billion-a-year industry, and we can be sure that the people on the recieving end of all this aren't going to want to share any of it.

[This message was edited by chas smith on 16 September 2001 at 02:05 PM.][This message was edited by chas smith on 16 September 2001 at 02:06 PM.]

Donny Hinson · Post by **Donny Hinson** » 16 Sep 2001 5:41 pm

Well Chas, I just did the math (there really ain't much of it in this problem) and it seems the major labels are spending a whole .25% (yes, 1/4 of 1 percent of their gross!) on their little "gifts". You see, 100 million bucks is a lotta cash for you and me...but for them, it's "chump change"...little more than coffee money.

Maybe we need a new federal law (we got one for everything else!) that prohibits playing any song more than 4 times in 24 hours on the same radio station. Then they'd HAVE to play more than the same 25 or 30 different songs a day that they do now.

chas smith R.I.P. · Post by **chas smith R.I.P.** » 16 Sep 2001 8:04 pm

Yo Donny, a $100 million buys a lot of politicians too.

Bob Hoffnar · Post by **Bob Hoffnar** » 16 Sep 2001 8:49 pm

But wait! That’s not all!

You guys noticed how some of the "heavily consulted" (one of my favorite euphemisms) stations rarely say the name of the tune after they play it?
Record companies are charged advertising fees by some stations in order for the valuable airtime to be used to say the name of the artist.

Bob

Glenn Suchan · Post by **Glenn Suchan** » 17 Sep 2001 12:04 pm

Bob,

If the radio station won't take the time to tell me to whom I'm listening I don't take the time to listen at all. I just spin the dial to the nearest competitor. Usually the local NPR affiliate (Austin has one of the best in the country. See www.kut.org for a real audio broadcast of what they have to offer).

Keep on pickin'!
Glenn[This message was edited by Glenn Suchan on 17 September 2001 at 01:14 PM.]

Glenn Suchan · Post by **Glenn Suchan** » 17 Sep 2001 2:02 pm

Chas,

About that Clear Channel Communications, Inc. thing you mentioned. One local country radio station in the Austin market (KVET) is owned by CCC, Inc. and they are committed to playing many independently released CD's by local and statewide artists. The band I play with (Kevin Fowler Band) has had three songs go into rotation in the last year. A forth song was released to broadcast just this past week. The rotation calls for at least four plays a day. In fact I have heard two Kevin Fowler songs played back-to-back on KVET.

Maybe it's an Austin thing or even a Texas thing. But apparently it's not an across-the-board thing with CCC, Inc.

Up until a few weeks ago there was another Austin country station that was doing the same thing (not owned by CCC, Inc.). It was very successful in that format but the numbers were not up to a level that the owner wanted and the station changed to a computerized broadcast of "techno-pop" crap and fired all of their DJ's. (R.I.P. "Lonestar 93")

'nuff said...

Keep on pickin'!
Glenn[This message was edited by Glenn Suchan on 17 September 2001 at 03:07 PM.]

chas smith R.I.P. · Post by **chas smith R.I.P.** » 17 Sep 2001 5:29 pm

Glenn, sounds like an Austin thing. I view Austin as an oasis for real music. I've played Zona Rosa a couple times, the Continental and the Saxon and from my limited experience, Austin and San Fransisco are the best places to play.

Brandon Roper · Post by **Brandon Roper** » 19 Sep 2001 8:41 am

HEY! HEY! HEY! Now just wait a minute there guys! Surely youre not insinuating that the country music industry has given into corruption and greed! (w/ the utmost sarcasm) I mean who out there doesn't enjoy listening to the same 5 CRUSTY A$$ pseudo-country songs over and over......aaaanndd over once again? It is quite disheartening, personally, to watch 20 good up and comming COUNTRY BANDS (thats right I said bands) get pissed upon while some limp wristed, douch bag, country "personality" of the month become a CMT "Rizing STAR" (ooohhhh-aHHHHHHHH) Hey,BIG-F'n-Deal! Yes that is a little hostility you sense here, but they are taking our music from us and making dificult if not impossable for any future musicians to make a living @ music!!
I'd kinda like to slap a South Georgia
A$$-Woopin' on some of these record industry executives.

NUFF-SAID Brandon
ps-sorry if I strayed from the sbject a bit.