Businessman Killed the Radio Star
Colin Schermerhorn
Issue date: 11/1/07 Section: Editorial & Opinion
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much these days, you're not
the only one. Radio play lists are
smaller than ever, and the variety
that was once readily available
with the turn of the dial has
become a thing of the '90s. This
change in the standard is a relatively
recent one, and it's not by
accident.
In the past, radio stations used
to be much more localized. You
could go from one city to the next
and get a feel for the sound of the
area. This reflected the tastes of
not only music programmers and
DJs, but also listeners themselves.
The radio was also the primary
way to break new artists and introduce
audiences to different
sounds. Just 10 years ago, radio
stations, Top 40 ones in particular,
would play host to wildly varying
artists. From Puff Daddy (as he
was known at the time) to The
Spice Girls, and from The Dave
Matthews Band to Celine Dion,
nothing seemed to be off-limits.
Then, something changed.
A radio broadcasting company
called Clear Channel Communications
began consolidating stations
all over the country. Today, more than
1,000 radio stations all over the United
States are run by Clear Channel, and it
reflects in bland, 'syndicated' broadcasting
that has brought down the number of
songs on radio play lists drastically.
So if you think you've
been hearing Fergie
or Justin Timberlake
twenty times a day, it's
probably because you
have.
But how does Clear
Channel go about
deciding which artists
will make the
list? Many say that
Clear Channel's
infamous political
standing has to do
with the choice.
Clear Channel is
highly conservative,
and has been
accused of censoring
opinions
critical of George
W. Bush and the
Republican Party.
Non-threatening
artists, whose views won't turn listeners off but will keep money in
Clear Channel's pockets, seem to make
the cut an awful lot. On the other hand,
more outspoken entertainers like Madonna
and Howard Stern have found
themselves on Clear Channel's bad
side, and The Dixie Chicks were
all but banned from country
radio upon Natalie Maines'
famous comment, "We're
ashamed the President of the
United States is from Texas."
On Clear Channel's official
website, www.clearchannel.
com, the company
stresses that they
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