◆ [Date updated: 2023/10/09(Mon) 12:47:31]
■I believe there was a significant decline in the quality of mainstream
music at the end of the 1990s that can be tied directly to Clear
Channel's monopoly on radio stations.
Before 1992, there were laws in place that limited the number of radio
stations a company could own. During the 1990s, Congress began relaxing
these rules, particularly with the Telecommunications Act of 1996. After
that, companies were free to buy up radio stations and hold monopolies
in particular regions and markets.
Clear Channel jumped on this. Before 1992, Clear Channel owned 2 radio
stations, which was the limit at the time. By 1995, Clear Channel owned
43 radio stations. Today, the company is called iHeartMedia, and they
own over 1,200 radio stations. And they're not alone. There are a
handful of companies that own hundreds of radio stations across the
country.
Before the late 1990s, radio stations could play whatever music they
wanted. A radio DJ wasn't just a babysitter for the station. They
curated the playlists, and DJs were often the force driving the
popularity of songs and artists.
But once Clear Channel and other companies bought up all the radio
stations, mainstream music became homogenized. Every radio station
within a certain genre is basically just playing the same playlist
curated by the company that owns them. The pop stations get the pop
playlist, the rock stations get the rock playlist, and the DJs just hit
the play button.
There's no room for originality. There's no ability for a DJ to push
that underground band they just discovered. There's no opportunity for a
new artist to have a surprise radio hit. The mainstream isn't the most
popular music. The mainstream is what iHeartMedia decides the mainstream
should be.
In that type of environment, where the mainstream is predetermined by a
few companies, you're going to see a decline in the quality of music.
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