Is this the end of free radio airplay?

BayFm is just trying to understand this issue...

Moneyed international musicians demanding radio stations (initially in the United States) to pay them for playing their music? In retaliation to this, several radio stations are allegedly now boycotting them.

This maybe happening on the other side of the globe, but if this artist coalition musicFIRST (purportedly composed of huge names in the music scene) gets their way, radio stations all around the world, from the big networked to small independent radio stations on and off the net, might just kiss all-music programs goodbye and say hello to talk radio (hehe).

BayFM is re-posting this article courtesy of AllAccess.com that talks about this brouhaha over airplay royalties. Read on and tell us what you think.

Is Bono Being Boycotted? (as of 10 June 09) Which top-selling artist purportedly had his new single yanked from some radio stations playlists in retaliation for supporting royalties for musicians? THE ASSOCIATED PRESS reports no one involved will name the recording artist, but his no-play treatment by several radio stations is alleged in a complaint filed with the FCC and obtained by THE ASSOCIATED PRESS. It claims recording artists are being threatened and intimidated. In the filing, the MUSICFIRST COALITION says the top-selling artist -- there are hints it could be U2 frontman BONO -- recently released a new album and spoke during APRIL (NET NEWS 4/20) in support of an effort to require radio stations to pay musicians royalties similar to those paid to songwriters. Soon after, it said, "several stations within a major radio broadcast group notified the artist's label that they would no longer play his single on the air." "These are the cases we know about," MUSICFIRST Exec. Dir. JENNIFER BENDALL said. "We can only imagine what may be happening under the cover of silence." A Response To Bono's Support Of Performance Fee? In APRIL, BONO issued a statement on behalf of pay for musicians, saying, "It's only fair that when radio makes money by playing a recording artist's music ... the recording artist should be compensated just as songwriters are already." Calls and e-mails by The AP to a spokeswoman for BONO were not immediately returned. Other artists involved with MUSICFIRST include DON HENLEY, CELINE DION, CHRISTINA AGUILERA and WYCLEF JEAN. Additional Claims The filing also alleges unfair treatment of other artists by radio stations in FLORIDA, DELAWARE and TEXAS. It does not identify any of the stations but accuses the stations of unlawfully putting their own financial interests above their obligation to serve the public. The group asks the FCC, which regulates the public airwaves, to investigate. The controversy centers on legislation in Congress that would require radio stations to pay musicians royalties. Satellite radio, Internet radio and cable TV music channels already pay fees to performers and musicians, along with songwriter royalties. AM and FM radio stations just pay songwriters, not performers. The NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF BROADCASTERS opposes the bill, called the Performance Rights Act. The NAB says it amounts to a tax on U.S. radio stations and threatens thousands of jobs. The filing by MUSICFIRST, made late TUESDAY, also said: - A DELAWARE radio station boycotted all artists affiliated with MUSICFIRST for an entire month. - Before an interview, an artist was pressured by a TEXAS radio station to state on the air that the Performance Rights Act would cripple radio stations. A Non-Commercial High School Station Boycotted musicFIRST Artists For 30 Days ALL ACCESS has learned that the DELAWARE radio station in question is BRANDYWINE SCHOOL DISTRICT Non-Comm WMPH (SUPER 91.7)/WILMINGTON. A MUSICFIRST spokesperson would not confirm that, saying, "We are not confirming stations other than those included in the filing." While no longer posted, a cached version of the site finds this posting: WMPH Boycotts Music First Coalition Artists WMPH made an educational boycott for one month simply to make a statement in the music industry. The MUSICFIRST coalition wants radio stations to pay the artist for playing their music. From mid-JUNE through mid-JULY 2007, WMPH refused to play songs by any artist affiliated with the MUSICFIRST coalition. musicFIRST Argues What's 'In The Public Interest' MUSICFIRST is asking the FCC to investigate these actions, find that the stations have violated their public interest obligations and consider the broadcasters’ malfeasance in connection with their license renewal. MUSICFIRST is also asking the FCC to consider this conduct as part of its overall review of the length of radio stations licenses, currently seven years. "Our message to the FCC is clear," BENDALL said. "We respect a broadcaster’s right to oppose the Performance Rights Act. But we cannot tolerate broadcasters’ use of the public airwaves to stifle debate, threaten artists and musicians and undermine the public interest in pursuit of their narrow, private business interests." In a press conference held TODAY (6/10), MUSICFIRST claimed that "dozens of stations," with various ownership, had turned down ads from the coalition. NAB Responds NAB EVP DENNIS WHARTON issued the following statement, "This allegation is nothing more than an act of desperation by a record label lobby losing on CAPITOL HILL and in the court of public opinion. On one hand, it highlights the unparalled promotional value of free radio airplay, which has propelled countless artists to stardom. We would also note that WILL.I.AM, a vocal proponent of the performance tax, and his group BLACK EYED PEAS are currently #1 on BILLBOARD's Pop 100 Airplay Chart with the song 'Boom Boom Pow.'" "If there's an FCC probe involving the music business, it ought to focus on claims from numerous artists -- from THE BEATLES to PRINCE to CHER -- that they were cheated out of royalties by their record labels."

The Vietnam Radio Visit and Quality Time with Big Brother

Last Friday, us Bay FM radio geeks were part of the entourage that welcomed radio colleagues from the Voice of Vietnam. Our group, the SBMA Corporate Communications, played host to the 9-member delegation which was accompanied by the Kapisanan ng mga Brodkaster ng Pilipinas (KBP), the regulatory body of the Philippines' broadcast industry, led by its Operations & Administrative Manager Ms. Nora Villanueva. We had the chance to mingle and talk to them a bit (with the help of a lady interpreter) over lunch at the Subic Bay Yacht Club and then dinner at the Golden Dragon Resto. In between said meals, the party was treated to a tour of the Freeport courtesy of the SBMA Tourism Department.

Though it was just a brief visit by our friends from Vietnam's public radio (most of whom are probably in their late 40s and 50s, to the chagrin of the very young lady Vietnamese interpreter), Ate Nora said they did have a blast. I spent most of my time talking with KBP since we, especially Ate Nora, have mutual friends in the industry and we just blabbered away like old friends. Eman, the other KBP guy, found a music ally in me when he discovered I was an 80s kid. He gleefully played 80s new wave over his cellphone and challenged me to a game of name that tune.

It was during dinner when we talked about the state of affairs in Philippine Radio...the current trends and changes in FM formats, the rankings of radio stations, the hiring and firing of deejays and executives, and cases of indecent language slapped by the KBP against certain broadcast companies and jocks (yes, we do have our own Howard Sterns here).

Overall, it was an interesting (and educational) day for us radio geeks. It's not everyday when we are visited by fellow Asian radio geeks and get to keep tabs with Big Brother's folks. Well, we need to go out of that bomb shelter of a booth sometime, right?

Round and Round the Radio Formats Go

It used to be simpler….

I grew up with FM radio and during the 80s, Frequency Modulation in my opinion, was at its finest.

I’m pretty sure the 60s & 70s may have been so much fun but when I was growing up, a lot of us 80s Pinoy kids had our ears glued on FM because it was basically the only source of fresh music we could ever have, especially so with the dawn of the second British music invasion and the rise of commercial rock. The American Top 40 hosted by the legendary Casey Casem (syndicated and heard over the former 99.5 RT) was THE definitive yardstick of what’s hot and up there (still is, sans Casem), sending us kids to record stores to buy the singles or albums (which, back then were either in vinyl or cassette tape).

FM in the 80s also produced a good number of brilliant young deejays (e.g. Jeremiah Junior., Eric Cain, Peter Rabbit, the Triggerman, Joe D’ Mango, et.al.), in addition to the already established jocks in the scene [like Howlin’ Dave & Bob Magoo, to mention a few]. Save for a few OPM songs, FM in the Philippines during the 80s could pass for being an exact clone of its US counterpart.

The 90s for me came and went but the FM scene basically stayed the same, pretty much Top 40 with some stations still sticking to specialized (Adult-Oriented Radio, Rock & Alternative) formats, but with an interesting twist due to the rising commercial popularity of local bands (led by the Eraserheads and Parokya ni Edgar).

Then, the advent of the digital revolution and the internet changed the FM landscape drastically. Having been back after so many years of working in AM news radio and the corporate scene, I found myself in the middle of this radio culture shift.

The emergence of MP3 players and podcasting drastically changed people’s listening habits. Now, they could just download whatever music they want, load more than a thousand of their favorite songs and listen to them with virtually no interruptions. It practically beats listening to FM with all its stingers, radio ads, and deejay tattle.

This propelled a couple of FM stations in the US to shift to a new format called Jack FM (also called variety hits) where stations just play music using automation programming, basically doing away with deejays. For more info about this format, click here.

(Unintentionally, Bay FM’s format is a bit like Jack FM. Though we try to fill up most of our morning shifts with hosted programs, a huge pie of our 24/7 programming runs automatically).

Manila-based FM stations however, responded quite differently to this revolution. Aware that the availability of such technologies have turned away a lot of their listeners (especially those in the A-B categories), quite a number of FM stations have shifted towards targeting the masa (the common people - am I politically correct?).

Some stations even went as far as introducing all-tagalog spiels and stingers (some of which are really done in bad taste…sorry, but that’s just me). I mean, I love the Filipino language but to listen to a canned stinger of someone shouting “direcho! direcho! direcho!(forward)” as if it has some educational value to it is really very alienating for someone like me who had listened to FM radio for quite sometime. I don’t know how long would this formula work but I just found out that one station of this kind is now off the air.

If you want to know more about this “rigudon” or format shifts of FM stations in the country, read it here.

This shift in FM formats also made quite a huge impact on deejays. Somebody told me that one very popular but-now-jobless jock was seen in a variety show as a contestant. It really is hard to fight for what you think an FM station should be in the midst of all these changes, but times are really tough right now. Though some of the established ones have gone to greener pastures (like producing concerts and marketing), it’s really lamentable that we will not hear their voices anymore.

I’m quite sure a lot of changes will happen in the radio industry as technology advances. But in the meantime, let’s just enjoy new FM while it lasts.