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"I'm always working on my new material, but it is hard to do it with any inspiration knowing that you are not going to be played because you don't have a pretty bellybutton," says Haggard. "Clear Channel pretty well has everything locked up. It is disgusting a little bit, and somewhat deflating to realize that no matter what quality of music you may be writing, they are not going to entertain it. Because if it has any subject matter to it, they are certainly not going to play it."


I found the quote above on Billboard.com. There is a lot of truth to what Ol' Merle said about the lack of great songwriters being played on the radio.

Merle is a smart man!

Clear Channel is evil!

I think with the internet and the advent of satellite radio like-minded folks like Merle will find an audience. I know that even without those two outlets I have still found a way to find the music that I enjoy. Even back in the 70s the majority of the music I listened to such as Buffett, Prine, Jerry Jeff, Steve Goodman, Guy Clark, Commander Cody, the Grateful Dead, the New Riders of the Purple Sage, etc., was hard to find on the radio but through word of mouth it still found it's way onto my stereo. I don't see things as being any different today other than with boards such as this one, word travels faster. One of the most discouraging things is encountering people that are unhappy with what their local radio stations and/or video channels have to offer but are seemingly unwilling to seek out the music that might matter to them.

I have seeked out other outlets. Internet is great if you can get good reception! My best outlet is music choice on Directv. They are some great music channels on there. I rarely turn on my local commercial radio any more unless I'm listening to Howard Stern.

My problem with Clear Channel goes fro beyond radio. They have thier hands in concert venues, ticket scalping, advertising, and the overall far right political agenda CC pushes.

Clear Channel is indeed evil but they were created by the fans. The reason I say that is that Clear Channel and its stations play what the majorty of fans want to hear. The local country station here every hour plays an Alan Jackson, Toby Keith, Tim McGraw and Kenny Chesney song. The reason they do that is because people who listen to that station want to hear them. You could have Tim McGraw sing an opera song and the fans would want to hear it over and over again so they play it and sell advertising. As long as artists like that can put a song they will dominate the airwaves. That is why XM and internet radio are so popular, they are not worried about selling as many ads. Just my 2 cents. Just as a side note Hey Good Looking is listed as number 12 on the rotation list at this station and is played an average of 3-4 times per day.

I have to beg to differ that Clear Channel was created by the fans. I have worked in commercial radio and know the mantra all too well that the announcers are constantly chanting about "we're playing what you want to hear". Believe what you want to believe but radio playlists are so restrictive because they are targeted towards their chief demographic which came about through no small amount of market research. As has been previously mentioned, radio stations, along with other outlets in the entertaiment industry such as your local concert venues are run by heartless bastards that have no interest or passion whatsoever in the music. Their only concern is the almightly bottom dollar. Bill Graham (who many credit with helping to make rock n' roll a profitable business, for better or for worse) may have been an a s s hole and a shrewd businessman but he had an undying passion for the music itself, that's what's missing these days.

Jahfin,

I worked in radio for several years and got out of it because I did not enjoy the scene as much as I wanted to so I moved on to other things. I still do have "friends" and contacts in radio and that is why I said what I did. Clear Channel is only in this for money as any company should be and thru research and info that is out there(record sales, concert sales, word of mouth), they know that in order to charge the advertisers more they need more listeners and as I said earlier fans flock like sheep to songs by the artists I mentioned. That is why Clear Channel is what it is...because they can and that is what is making them money. If the fans did not listen to stations that play the same artist over and over again there would be no Clear Channel.

jollymon345 wrote:Jahfin,

I worked in radio for several years and got out of it because I did not enjoy the scene as much as I wanted to so I moved on to other things. I still do have "friends" and contacts in radio and that is why I said what I did. Clear Channel is only in this for money as any company should be and thru research and info that is out there(record sales, concert sales, word of mouth), they know that in order to charge the advertisers more they need more listeners and as I said earlier fans flock like sheep to songs by the artists I mentioned. That is why Clear Channel is what it is...because they can and that is what is making them money. If the fans did not listen to stations that play the same artist over and over again there would be no Clear Channel.

I think we agree except for the part about the fans creating Clear Channel. That is what the folks that work for them would like to have you believe but I didn't buy it then and I don't buy it now. There are many radio stations out there that are not Clear Channel controlled that don't play the same artists/songs over and over again. They may be the exception but they do exist and are very successful because of the very fact that they go against the grain.

Jahfin I have to somewhat disagree with your saying non CC stations are successful. That is simply not the case in the DFW market. At first they were successful but I don't see it so much anymore.

When CC came into the DFW market it fired a lot of the local DJ's some of which had a huge following and had been on the air for years. These dj's stayed in the DFW market and went to non CC stations and the listners followed. After about a year and half of falling ratings CC hired back some of the DJ's it fired and now they have risen in the ratings again. We all know more ratings = better profit thru ad sales.

Some of the non CC stations appear to be struggling now and many have gone thru format changes causing listners to go back to clear channel stations to hear the music they want.

oh and I would also like to add that FM radio in DFW sounds so much like AM radio from the 70's it's disgusting!!!!! And the majority of stations I do listen to are CC stations - not because I like CC but they are just about the only stations that play the music I listen to. I get sick of hearing the same artist over and over again but as a consumer in a market that cc has damn near locked up what's a person to do??

ph4ever wrote:Jahfin I have to somewhat disagree with your saying non CC stations are successful. That is simply not the case in the DFW market. At first they were successful but I don't see it so much anymore.

When CC came into the DFW market it fired a lot of the local DJ's some of which had a huge following and had been on the air for years. These dj's stayed in the DFW market and went to non CC stations and the listners followed. After about a year and half of falling ratings CC hired back some of the DJ's it fired and now they have risen in the ratings again. We all know more ratings = better profit thru ad sales.

Some of the non CC stations appear to be struggling now and many have gone thru format changes causing listners to go back to clear channel stations to hear the music they want.

I don't know what I said to give you the impression that every Clear Channel owned station is successful, what I did say is what they do in order to be successful. And if I follow what you're saying correctly, the Clear Channel stations recognized the error of their ways and hired back the very announcers that made their stations successful to start with.

I want to make one thing clear in the event that this thread gets out of hand (and I sure hope it doesn't because I know we've all had enough of that lately), I'm against Clear Channel and everything they represent, which goes much deeper than just controlling the entire entertainment industry, especially since they have ties to the man in the White House these days. I think upon this we all agree so there is no need for argument. Clear Channel has even done some things to help shake up radio formats, such as was mentioned in an article I posted not long ago about Modern Rock Radio expanding their playlist in order to more closely resemble what was considered once "alternative" back in the early 90s, thus inventing a whole new format called "classic alternative". While this may seem like a good thing, in the end they are only doing it because of revenues. They realize the audience they're trying to target is no longer in college and is settling down, i.e., they have money to spend.

The main point I want to convey is, there are alternatives to Clear Channel in near every aspect of the industry they have a stranglehold on. Concert sales this summer are a clear indication that people are tired of paying through the nose for concert tickets. Some tours have even lowered prices in hopes of moving more tickets, hopefully this is a trend that will continue. In my small circle of friends we all do what we can to subvert the Clear Channel mentality by supporting independent artists and venues by going to see them and purchasing merch directly from the artists themselve so hopefully they'll see more money. We don't do this for the sole purpose of trying to do the exact opposite of what Clear Channel wants us to do but because these are artists we believe in and have no problem throwing our support behind. As long as people flock to Clear Channel controlled businesses with a sheep like mentality they will only prosper. Unfortunately that mindset seems to be in the majority, not the minority which only makes the situation even sadder.

ph4ever wrote:oh and I would also like to add that FM radio in DFW sounds so much like AM radio from the 70's it's disgusting!!!!! And the majority of stations I do listen to are CC stations - not because I like CC but they are just about the only stations that play the music I listen to. I get sick of hearing the same artist over and over again but as a consumer in a market that cc has damn near locked up what's a person to do??

I just ordered XM radio but it hasn't arrived yet so I'm sure that will change my listening habits significantly. Otherwise, sometime in the early to mid-90s my local rock station quit playing new music and went to a nearly all classic rock format, that's when I quit being an active listener. In the years since I still tune in but only occasionally. In the meantime my listening habits consist of listening to NPR and to my car CD player where I program the music I want to listen to.

Jahfin what I tried in vain to point out is that there are very few sucessful radio stations in my market that are not owned by cc. There once was but no longer

Venues here cater to cc or they are unsucessful - period. And a few people will not change that fact.

Shoot if I wanted to see Buffett I had to go to a cc sponsored concert - all marketed and hatched by a cc station. (The Texas Stadium Show)

So what is someone like me to do when your market is completely controlled by cc. And I don't have a sheep like mentality but I do like to see certain performers and the only way I can do it in my town is to go to a cc venue so basically I'm SOL.

Yea we do have areas of town where you can go to a small venue and hear some up and comer and don't get me wrong I have done that. I saw Puddle of Mud in a tiny tiny bar before they had a hit and was absolutely blown away. And every now and then you get a big name at a smaller venue but not that often. CC clearly dominates the DFW market and you're stuck with it and a small handful of people are not going to change it. Incidently I would guess that if given the chance the independent artists you go to see were offered a high dollar contract with a major label they would jump on it and then they would be playing the cc venues.

I won't order XM - I refuse to pay for radio. I'll just deal with CC and listen to CD's

ph4ever wrote: Jahfin what I tried in vain to point out is that there are very few sucessful radio stations in my market that are not owned by cc. There once was but no longer

I may not of been clear enough about it but your point is understood. The same is true of my area.

ph4ever wrote: Venues here cater to cc or they are unsucessful - period. And a few people will not change that fact.

Shoot if I wanted to see Buffett I had to go to a cc sponsored concert - all marketed and hatched by a cc station. (The Texas Stadium Show)

So what is someone like me to do when your market is completely controlled by cc. And I don't have a sheep like mentality but I do like to see certain performers and the only way I can do it in my town is to go to a cc venue so basically I'm SOL.

Yea we do have areas of town where you can go to a small venue and hear some up and comer and don't get me wrong I have done that. I saw Puddle of Mud in a tiny tiny bar before they had a hit and was absolutely blown away. And every now and then you get a big name at a smaller venue but not that often. CC clearly dominates the DFW market and you're stuck with it and a small handful of people are not going to change it. Incidently I would guess that if given the chance the independent artists you go to see were offered a high dollar contract with a major label they would jump on it and then they would be playing the cc venues.

I'm not saying I never attend a Clear Channel controlled venue or never listen to Clear Channel owned radio, it's just that the bands I naturally like usually aren't associated with them, nor are the venues (usually bars) that they play in. Neil Young is one of the most outspoken people on the planet about big business but even he has to play Clear Channel controlled venues. Same with the White Stripes. It's just the point it's gotten to, it's nearly impossible to find a venue or radio station that isn't controlled by them.

Every band wants to be successful and that means if that high paying gig comes along they waited so long for, they might have to s*** it in in order to reach that next plateau but that doesn't mean they have to. I guess it just depends on the circumstances. This might not be the best example because it's not exactly about Clear Channel but the Drive-By Truckers had a highly successful independent album in Southern Rock Opera a couple of years ago that was funded entirely by the band and an investment group set up by the fans. After all the media attention, the big wigs at the newly formed Lost Highway Records came calling and they signed with them. After the person that signed them left, they found that the remaining label heads didn't have their best interest at heart. In fact, they told them that the next album they turned in (last year's Decoration Day) was too dark and non-commercial. Following their departure, they signed with New West instead where they are receiving the treatment they deserve. Both Ryan Adams and Wilco experienced similar reactions to some of their newer releases but found alternative means to get them to their respective audiences. I think Buffett going indie gives a good idea that though it may be a harder row to hoe, in the end it may be the most beneficial to all involved, especially if helps sideline the Clear Channels of the world.

I heard this morning that Howard Stern is going back on the air in most of the markets that CC fired him from. I guess he will be on Infinity stations and go head to head with CC morning shows. The thing that really surprises me is most of these markets are in swing states that could have a huge effect on the election in November.

In order to avoid CC, listen to www.KRCL.org, it's your sound alternative. I live in a market that CC controls just over 50% of the stations and the majority of the rest are part of the other large corporate chains. Luckily, there are 3 university stations that I can listen to for news and such and then there is my listener supported community radio station, KRCL. It's rare that you hear the same song in the same week, let alone the same day. You get a bit of every genre by listening throughout the week.

As for seeing big names, I'm in the same boat as everyone else. I do attend a lot of house concerts and music festivals so that I can see up and coming talent but in order to see the big dogs, I don't have a lot of options.

One thing to keep in mind when discussing CC's impact, it goes far beyond establishing playlists, the record labels are now asking CC's opinion of an artist before signing them. Thus CC is beginning to decide who will get signed and prompted by the labels. This has far ranging implications since it will limit what choices we have.

I know several people who have worked in CC's management team over the last decade and they have indicated that CC intentionally limits the playlist and thus the options that fans have to hear a new song. And if you hear something you like somewhere else, if it's not on the approved list then it doesn't matter how many times it's requested by the fans, it won't get played.

It's a sad commentary on the job that the regulators have done, when one company can control so much of what goes on in an industry.