Well, again, I don't want to sound like an apologist, but since they bought us, I get to see this from the inside. I think it's really kinda funny how CC is the Big Bad Wolf of broadcasting. So far we keep getting screwed by local promoters, instead of the reverse.
I'm sure they WISH they could create some huge monopoly but it isn't working. The fact is that CC Promotions and CC Radio don't seem to get along. We've had to BUY tickets from them for shows that they promote. Think about that: We're supposed to be parts of the same company, but we still have to buy tickets from them? They can't just give us some? And they promote shows with our competition all the time. Their job is still to make money by getting people to buy tickets, and they have a lot of autonomy. CC Radio is sometimes left out in the cold by the other arm of their own company. Ah, the irony.
The whole idea of "we'll stop playing your songs if you don't play ball" again sounds good in theory, but it doesn't work so well in practice. The artist's management or the record label can very simply go to your competition if you do that. They can go to another promoter. Or they can just say "fuck you, we're not playing your town, we'll add a tour date elsewhere." Then you lose the "juice" from being part of the show and having tickets to give away, etc. Not to mention looking like the baddie. Meanwhile, the artist still plays, still makes the money, and doesn't bother calling you the next time they're on the road.
As for "extracting money from record companies..." Cripes, the record labels' hypocrisy knows no bounds. Payola killed Allan Freed, but it never died. The labels can't pay a person to play a record, but they can give a station "promotional considerations." In other words, if you want, say, 100 T-shirts to give away, and they cost $700 to make, you add a few bad records that nobody wants to play, and the record company buys your T-shirts for you. It's been this way forever, and everyone does it. It's legal. Suddenly, now that the record biz is taking a dive, they want to blame big bad radio for taking the money they've been freely giving all this time.
See why I need a career change?
There are those in radio who have been predicting ever since the consolidation began that it would sooner or later have to swing the other way. Here's hoping it's sooner. |