If you don't understand why your favorite local band just can't seem to make it big...

[HellRaiserandBeerDrinker]

From thisistrue.com


<<Long gone are the old days
when one company could only own a few radio or TV stations.
While you were sleeping, one company has managed to buy up *1,200* radio stations
with over a billion listeners. Waldo in Virginia, a reader and friend of mine,
alerted me to this -- as well as a new web site that's
dedicated to letting people know what's going on.

He notes: "Clear Channel's 1,200 radio stations control 60% of all rock programming,
they own the vast majority of the musical venues in the U.S.,
they own the lion's share of billboards, talk show hosts, and popular musical acts.
THEY decide what bands get famous, and what bands are doomed to play the bar circuit.
If you don't understand why your favorite local band just can't seem to make it big, http://www.ClearChannelSucks.org has the answers.
The music that you hear on the radio isn't played because it's popular,
but because the labels paid for it to be played.


If that's a problem for you, that site is the place to do something about it." >>


:Q:disgust:

 

[aphex]

3/5 local stations are clear channel

 

[Colt45]

weve got the same thing in canada hellraiser.

rawlco owns a sh|tload of radio stations

 

[yakko]

It is not Clear Channel's fault. They are just a business and they are trying to make money. It is the government that cahnged the regulations to allow them to dominate like they do.

 

[gopunk]

Originally posted by: yakko
It is not Clear Channel's fault. They are just a business and they are trying to make money. It is the government that cahnged the regulations to allow them to dominate like they do.

all under the guise of "interstate commerce" :disgust:

 

[deftron]

I thought video killed the radio star?

 

[Eli]

Originally posted by: HellRaiserandBeerDrinker
From thisistrue.com


<<Long gone are the old days
when one company could only own a few radio or TV stations.
While you were sleeping, one company has managed to buy up *1,200* radio stations
with over a billion listeners. Waldo in Virginia, a reader and friend of mine,
alerted me to this -- as well as a new web site that's
dedicated to letting people know what's going on.

He notes: "Clear Channel's 1,200 radio stations control 60% of all rock programming,
they own the vast majority of the musical venues in the U.S.,
they own the lion's share of billboards, talk show hosts, and popular musical acts.
THEY decide what bands get famous, and what bands are doomed to play the bar circuit.
If you don't understand why your favorite local band just can't seem to make it big, http://www.ClearChannelSucks.org has the answers.
The music that you hear on the radio isn't played because it's popular,
but because the labels paid for it to be played.


If that's a problem for you, that site is the place to do something about it." >>


:Q:disgust:

:disgust: I agree. The only thing I find wrong with it, though, is

"The music that you hear on the radio isn't played because it's popular, but because the labels paid for it to be played."

Isn't that skewing things a little? I mean. The music is being played because it's popular. They play whats popular because that's what brings in the money.

If the local rock station here started playing stuff that the general masses didn't know, or couldn't understand.. their ratings would drop. lol..

 

[gopunk]

Originally posted by: Eli
The only thing I find wrong with it, though, is

"The music that you hear on the radio isn't played because it's popular, but because the labels paid for it to be played."

Isn't that skewing things a little? I mean. The music is being played because it's popular. They play whats popular because that's what brings in the money.

If the local rock station here started playing stuff that the general masses didn't know, or couldn't understand.. their ratings would drop. lol..

that's not true at all... take britney spears... how many people had even heard of her before she was played on the radio? most people get their music from the radio, not the other way around.

radio stations go to "independant promoters" to get music to play. the independant promoters accept "fees" from record companies to promote certain music. even if the artist is established, these "fees" are still paid, because record companies want to keep the promoters happy.

 

[Stark]

clearchannel broadcasts many of their station on the internet for free. to me, that's a very good thing.

 

[tcsenter]

There was a story on some investigation news program like 60 Minutes or whatever about this a couple weeks back. Independent promoters paying radio stations fees for influence over what gets played and sometimes what will not get played. Pretty damned disturbing, really.

Of course, one of the most common reasons for your local bands not making it big is because they aren't good enough to attract the attention of a good promoter...or else they would.

 

[Kadarin]

"Popular" music is kind of a misnomer, because when radio stations only have a 20-25 song rotating playlist, you have to wonder how the song got "popular" enough to play on the radio. When you have stations attempting to appeal to the widest possible audience with a 20 song playlist, you end up with some pretty bland syrupy pap the passes for music.

Society is not like George Lucas' THX1138 dystopia; we all have our own likes and dislikes, including some pretty diverse tastes in music. Current radio does not cater to this, while filesharing clients clearly do.

 

[Koing]

I believe you can't market most bands or they are not popular so no ones going to sign them up. Its a business about making money and they are not going to sign people who don't make money.