Religious broadcasters have a reputation in noncommercial media for being well-prepared and ready to pounce on any opportunity to launch new stations. So it was no surprise last fall that many of the applicants for new, full-power noncommercial stations were religious — 60 percent, by one count.

But last October’s licensing window saw a new force in religious non-coms. There were more applications from Catholic organizations this time around. And that was no accident. read more

Clear Channel responded Friday to FMC’s Request for a Declaratory Ruling, which we filed at the FCC over the chain’s attempts to strip indie artists of performance royalties in exchange for airplay.

Clear Channel officially announced it had revised the language on its licensing agreement (for a fuller discussion see this blog posting). In media reports, Clear Channel officials said, “FMC’s allegations of a ‘payola-like scheme’ are irresponsible and totally false.”

Here is why we made the complaint and why it’s significant. read more

Radio

The Great Spectrum Giveaway
The FCC is giving radio spectrum to community-based non-profit organizations in October. Radio for People, which includes Prometheus Radio, FMC, and Free Press, is assisting groups with the complicated application process, but many obstacles still exist to prevent community groups from breaking into a highly consolidated radio spectrum.
by Megan Tady, In These Times, July 18, 2007 read more

On Monday, we promised readers a week full of blog posts about Clear Channel forcing local and indie artists to give up performance royalties in order to be considered for airplay on their stations.

Each day we’ve written about Clear Channel’s actions and why — contrary to their claims — they are not on the side of artists. If you’re new to the posts, please scroll down to have a look at what we’ve written.

You’ll also remember we promised you (and Clear Channel) a special surprise at the end of the week. Here it is: read more