New Music Study Shows Radio Favoring Major Labels…

Friday, May, 1, 2009 by Mel Phillips.

(Weekend Edition)

Radio stations will defend playing a majority of major label product by saying it’s the best music available.  The music community will say, ‘we told you so.’  Results of a new ‘Future of Music Coalition’ study shows that much of the music played on the radio comes from major labels, and it tends to be older (and well-known) material.  FMC analyzed playlists from 2005 to 2008 and concluded that there has been “no measurable change in station playlist composition over the past four years.”  About 85 (%) percent of radio music comes from the major labels now, just as it did before the study.  This is not the stuff of front-page headlines - just validation of the current conservative state of radio stations that play music…

The cynical yet always amusing Ars Technica website says “Not even government consent decrees have been able to change that.”  They also said the FMC study “provides some empirical support as to just how (radio) it sucks.”  The FMC analyzed national playlists from Adult Contemporary, Urban Adult Contemporary and AAA Commercial radio in 2008 and found that “almost 50 (%) percent of the airplay was of songs released prior to 1999.”  “In other words, new songs aren’t just competing with other new songs, they’re also competing with the biggest hits of the past.”  The study shows that even though independent music accounts for 30 (%) percent of the U.S. market, it is woefully underrepresented on mainstream radio…

Ars Technica says “the FMC study does make clear that if you want your indie rock, your best bet isn’t to flip through the dial but to hit the Internet, where Pandora, eMusic, and Last.fm offer up everything from the craziest Animal Collective noisemaking to Tom Waits, Josh Ritter and Arcade Fire.”  There is, of course another alternative and that’s listening to your own favorites streaming through your ear buds…     

10 Timeline Memories:  

1. 1931] Happy 78th Birthday Empire: It was May 1, 1931 when President Herbert Hoover pressed a button in Washington officially opening the tallest building in New York City and the U.S., The Empire State Building (5/1)…
2. 1952] Debuting on this date: Mama Potato Head gives birth to the son who will become Mr. Potato Head (5/1)…1957] Larry King broadcasts his first radio show (5/1) on WAHR (now WMBM) Miami Beach…
3. 1952] Derby Doings: Eddie Arcaro becomes the first jockey to win The Kentucky Derby 5 times, aboard Hill Gail (5/3).  Here’s a bio of the legendary jockey…1986] At the age of 54, Bill Shoemaker becomes the oldest jockey to win the big race riding Ferdinand (5/3).  Here’s a bio of Shoemaker…2008] Big Brown wins the 2008 Kentucky Derby. Eight Belles, the only filly in the race, breaks down after finishing second and is euthanized at Churchill Downs (5/3). My pick for this year’s Derby is in today’s Timeline Countdown at the bottom…
4. 1960] Where’s Bono?: The Soviet Union shoots down an American U-2 spy plane and captures pilot Francis Gary Powers who will later stand trial in Russia. He will be imprisoned and eventually be swapped for an imprisoned Russian (5/1)…
5. 1967] Wedding Bells: Elvis Presley and Priscilla Beaulieu rock down the aisle (5/1). They will divorce in 1973…
6. 1971] NPR goes on the air: National Public Radio makes its debut (5/3).  Here’s a recent interview on NPR…
7. 1974] Cue the shark: The filming of “Jaws” begins on Martha’s Vineyard (5/2). Next time you visit the Vineyard, ask someone to point out the spot near a small bridge where filming took place. They say the water temperature was so cold (in the fifties), the extras in the water were freezing…
8. 1991] Curtains: “Dallas” airs its final episode (5/3). The show that started in April, 1978, breaks viewing records in 1980 when 8.6 million watch the “Who Shot J.R.” episode…
9. 1991] Seven zeros: 44-year old Texas pitcher Nolan Ryan pitches his 7th no-hitter vs. Toronto (5/1). No other pitcher in baseball history is even close to reaching that mark. No one ever will be either…
10. 2003] It’s over: President George W. Bush lands by jet on the aircraft carrier USS Lincoln off the California coast and in a speech to the nation declares that major combat in Iraq is over (5/1)…







Music Memories:

• 1960] O Solo Mio: Ben E. King parts company with The Drifters, signing a solo deal with ATCO Records (5/2).  This was his first solo hit…
• 1965] Released on this date: “Back In My Arms Again” - Supremes (5/1)…1971] “Brown Sugar“ - Rolling Stones (5/1)…
• 1966] Number One on this date: “Monday, Monday” - Mamas & Papas (5/2)…1976] “Welcome Back” - John Sebastian (5/2). This was the theme song used for “Welcome Back Kotter“. The school viewed in the credits was my old alma mater, New Utrecht High School in Brooklyn…

“Happy Birthday…happy birthday”: (5/1) Wes Welker (28), Tim McGraw (42), Steve Cauthen (49), Ray Parker Jr. (55), Rita Coolidge (64), Judy Collins (70), Sonny James (80) and Scott Carpenter (84)…(5/2) Sarah Hughes (24), David Beckham (34), The Rock aka Dwayne Johnson (37), Donatella Versace (54), Foreigner lead singer Lou Gramm (59), Lesley Gore (63), Engelbert Humperdinck (73), Maury Allen (77) and Theodore Bikel (85)…(5/3) Cheryl Burke (25), Christopher Cross (58), Mary Hopkin (59), Greg Gumbel (63), Frankie Valli (75), Ann B. Davis (83) and Pete Seeger (90)…

Timeline Countdown: One day until the Kentucky Derby (my pick: Friesen Fire), 9 days until Mother’s Day and 24 days until Memorial Day…

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