Big Radio At It Again
Posted by Ali MarcusClear Channel is doing some sneaky stuff. It’s probably fair to assume that as they are a huge corporate conglomerate, they must always be doing sneaky stuff. But for some reason it is always more jarring when blatant extortion happens right in front of everybody’s face. And if we thought that Eliot Spitzer managed to rein them in just a little bit with that payola scandal, we were wrong.
The Future of Music Coalition reports that Clear Channel has set up online submission forms for local and independent artists, requiring a signature on a form that waives certain royalties in order for consideration. The idiocy of such a situation is that they’ve put the artist in a catch-22: never get the chance to be played on commercial radio, or give up your right to be paid for your work in order to have the honor. No, it’s merely in order to be considered for the honor.
Read the FMC’s blog for updates on this situation and more. They are talking about a “special surprise for Clear Channel” to be revealed on Friday, so stay tuned to find out what it could be.
July 23rd, 2007 at 8:21 am
[EDITOR’S UPDATE]
From the Future of Music Coalition 7/20 Newsletter:
Last Monday, July 9, FMC launched a week’s worth of daily blog posts devoted to the topic, while A2IM continued direct negotiations on behalf of its independent label members with Clear Channel. Then, Congress got involved. On Thursday, July 12, Senator Russ Feingold, D-Wis., sent a letter to each of the major radio station groups, questioning their intent to honor the conditions of the payola consent decree. Feingold referenced the Clear Channel royalty issue in the letter, saying that the “required royalty waiver seems to violate the April commitment not to barter access to music programmers. I encourage you all, and Clear Channel in particular, to clarify this issue.”
If you remember, we also promised you a surprise at the end of the week. On Friday, July 13, we filed a Request for a Declaratory Ruling at the FCC over Clear Channel’s actions.
It was clear by the end of last week Clear Channel had had enough.
As of Monday, July 16, Clear Channel had revised the language in the licensing agreement (see example here). The new language removed the words “royalty-free” from the agreement, which ensures that artists can keep their rights to their public performance royalties. One of the nation’s smallest music non-profits beat back the nation’s most powerful broadcaster.
We want to thank the independent label group A2IM for all their hard work negotiating directly with Clear Channel on the revised language over the last two weeks. The victory is great for all musicians. It proves that we can take on the most powerful forces in the radio industry and win. It also shows a more equitable music business is possible if we band together to make a concerted effort.