[atari 2600]

Mike Mills' FCC Open Hearing Testimony

Submitted by Zarok on Thu, 10/05/2006 - 12:31am.
Testimony of Mike Mills
FCC Open Hearing on Media Ownership
University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA
October 3, 2006
(Ed's note: for further reading on subject please click on links at bottom)
Chairman Martin, Commissioners Adelstein, Copps, McDowell, and Tate, thank you for the opportunity to speak at this public hearing on media consolidation and its effect on recording artists, songwriters, and the radio listening public.
My name is Mike Mills. I am the bassist for the band R.E.M., and a member of the Recording Artists’ Coalition. I’m also a proud AFTRA member. I have been a recording artist and songwriter for over twenty-five years. R.E.M. started out as a local band in the college town of Athens, Georgia. Since R.E.M. released our first EP, “Chronic Town,” in 1982, we have recorded thirteen original studio albums. I have worked with members of the Commission before on this very issue through my work with the Future of Music Coalition.
Ten years ago, Congress passed the 1996 Telecommunications Act, opening the floodgates of almost unlimited media consolidation in the radio industry. On this important 10-year anniversary, we should all ask the question, “Is American radio better today than it was ten years ago?”
The answer, in my estimation, is an emphatic “No.”
Media consolidation has, without question, harmed localism in radio. It has harmed new and emerging recording artists, as well as local music communities. But most of all, it has harmed the American listening public. The bond between a local station and its local listening audience has largely evaporated. Radio conglomerates have taken the “local” out of local radio to such a degree that, by and large, radio in Atlanta sounds like radio in Denver, Los Angeles, Nashville, or Washington, DC.
Playlists have been corporatized, nationalized, and sanitized. Airplay for local and new artists is a virtual impossibility.
Pre-1996, local radio stations had always enjoyed a special relationship with the local community and especially the local music establishment. Each city or geographic area has its own unique cultural and musical heritage. Many of these local genres are uniquely American -- Texas swing, Appalachian bluegrass, zydeco, Tejano, blues, and jazz. Local radio outlets that supported these genres contributed to the vitality of music and radio not just on a local level, but on a national level as well. Due to radio consolidation, these distinctly American musical formats have suffered immeasurably. Where are the local radio outlets for these styles of music in an era of nationalized playlists?
Radio consolidation has visited similar hardships on new artists as well. Back when R.E.M. started, many young artists found that one "breakout" song on a local radio station could get them started on the road to national success. Strong support from local DJs and program directors dramatically enhanced the development of up and coming artists and entire local music communities. The harm to localism from development of uniform national playlists most certainly impacts the chances for established artists to prosper, new artists to emerge, and local music communities to remain economically viable.
R.E.M. owes much of its early success to local stations throughout the country. We grew organically through word of mouth, local buzz, and incessant touring. With each record and accompanying tour, we grew increasingly popular. We didn’t achieve our first Gold record until our fourth studio album.
It was very difficult as it was for bands to get commercial radio airplay, and a journey like ours would be virtually impossible in today’s era of consolidated radio conglomerates and concentrated mega-labels. If a band doesn’t have a hit on their first record, they often find themselves dropped.
The FCC has a mandate to consider the goals of localism, diversity, and free competition when contemplating changes in radio ownership rules. However, changes in radio ownership rules since 1996 -- most notably the increase in station ownership caps -- have only had a negative effect on localism, diversity, and competition. As you undertake your review of whether to revise the media ownership rules, the FCC should heed the Hippocratic Oath—first do no harm.
In other words, the Commission should not make the problem of radio consolidation worse by increasing the number of stations that a single company can own in a given market. Ideally, the FCC should lower the station ownership caps back to pre-1996 levels. Absent that, however, the FCC could take intermediate steps to restore some level of competition, diversity of viewpoints, and localism that has been lost as a result of unprecedented radio consolidation over the last 10 years.
Specifically, the Commission could mandate that as part of its public interest obligations, a radio licensee must play a minimum number of hours per week of music by local artists—and not just in the middle of the night. This is done in the television context, wherein broadcasters are required to provide a designated amount of children’s programming each week. Radio licensees should have an analogous requirement for local artists.
By all economic accounts, the music industry is in trouble. While piracy is clearly the major reason for the downturn in the music business over the last several years, many believe media consolidation is also a significant factor. As it moves forward with its review of broadcast rules, the FCC should take into consideration the impact of media consolidation on music performers and music listeners.
For instance, the FCC should better understand and take into consideration how media consolidation affects the problem of payola. While payola is an insidious practice, media consolidation has arguably made it worse. Retaliation against recording artists can now take place on a national scale, if, for example, an artist does not concede to unreasonable demands of a radio network or station to play a radio-sponsored concert.
And as the FCC’s recently discovered studies of some years ago show, localism in broadcasting has suffered as a result of media consolidation. A proper examination of localism, diversity, and fair competition must include consideration of these issues. This is about more than just some scruffy musicians getting their songs on the radio. This is about the control and flow of information on the public’s airwaves – and information is the lifeblood of democracy.
In conclusion, we hope the FCC will not prematurely issue radio ownership rules without fully examining how media consolidation impacts recording artists, the music industry, and the listening public on a local and national scale. We at the Recording Artists’ Coalition look forward to working with you on these important matters. Thank you again for the opportunity to appear at this public hearing.
-Mike Mills
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Further reading:
Mirrored fromREMhq
FMQB
LATimes.com