WASHINGTON, DC – Today, the Federal Communications Commission announced a rulemaking on media ownership, in particular Rules and Policies Concerning Multiple Ownership of Radio Broadcast Stations in Local Markets (MM Docket No. 01-317).

Future of Music Coalition (FMC) continues to assert that any effort by the Commission to lift longstanding media ownership rules must be justified by a clear explanation of how proposed changes can benefit the fundamental regulatory goals of localism, competition and diversity.  Based on the Commission’s track record on recent proceedings and pending matters, FMC is concerned that the Commission does not fully recognize the importance of local media ownership, or that there is a complete lack of evidence that consolidation at the local level has been a policy that promotes localism, competition or diversity.

FMC maintains that the Commission has yet to account for the devastating impact of the Telecommunications Act of 1996, which led to rampant radio station ownership consolidation.  For example, in 2003, then-Chairman Powell called for the creation of a Localism Task Force, which would study the impact of deregulation on local markets.  This Task Force has yet to furnish the public with a report.

For the past two years, New York Attorney General Eliot Spitzer has used the subpoena power of his office to investigate and expose the problem of payola in the commercial radio industry. Despite overwhelming evidence and over $30 million in settlements with record labels, the Commission has yet to take action on the matter and punish those radio station owners who have been accused of violating the law. The documentation released by Spitzer’s office implicates radio station owners at the highest level of selling the capacity of their government-granted licenses at the expense of the public’s trust.  

In addition, the Commission has allowed incumbent broadcasters to move ahead with HD multicasting. There are currently over 800 stations operating HD side channels, yet the Commission has yet to issue a set of rules or propose public interest obligations based on its 2004 Rulemaking on Digital Audio Broadcasting.

Instead of accounting for the negative impacts of existing consolidation and carefully crafting a policy framework for HD radio, the Commission is on the verge of rewarding commercial radio broadcasters with additional capacity by lifting local ownership caps. The massive consolidation of the commercial radio industry since the 1996 Telecommunications Act has reduced localism, competition and diversity.  It has facilitated institutional payola-like practices that have limited the ability for local and independent artists to be eligible for commercial airplay.  Over one-third of station owners have disappeared. Critical pieces of American culture are vanishing from the commercial radio landscape, including genres like jazz, classical, bluegrass, big band and folk.

It would be a travesty for the Commission to move ahead with further deregulation without a complete process that leaves ample time for public comment and a robust research agenda that examines how changing existing rules will serve the public interest. Anything short of that would be a true disservice to the public, the artist community and the entire chain of small businesses that rely on, and deserve, fair access to radio.

During today’s meeting, Chairman Martin committed to a legitimate regulatory process, including significant new research, public hearings across the country, and an extensive public comment period.  Future of Music Coalition and our partners in the artist community stand ready to participate in the process, and hold him to his word.

About the Future of Music Coalition
Future of Music Coalition is a national non-profit education, research and advocacy organization that identifies, examines, interprets and translates the challenging issues at the intersection of music, law, technology and policy. FMC achieves this through continuous interaction with its primary constituency – musicians – and in collaboration with other creator/citizen groups.