musicFIRST, Future of Music Coalitions File Opposition To NAB Ownership Revisions

They Big To Differ On Ownership Changes

The MUSICFIRST and the FUTURE OF MUSIC COALITIONS jointly filed their opposition to the NAB proposal to loosen Local Radio Station Ownership caps as part of the FCC’s 2018 Quadrennial Regulatory Review (MB Docket 18-349). Under the NAB’s proposal (NET NEWS, 4/30), single broadcast entities would be allowed to own or control up to eight commercial FM stations and have unlimited ownership of AM stations in the top 75 Nielsen Audio markets. 

The MUSICFIRST and FUTURE OF MUSIC COALITIONS' filing argues that the current rules "continue to promote diversity, competition, and localism in AM/FM radio in local communities served” and that by loosening them, "some smaller clusters of AM/FM radio stations would suffer competitively as other already sizeable local clusters get bigger and wield even more market share than they already enjoy.”

Other qualms about the NAB's proposal deals with unintended impact in terms of gender bias. "It is very important to determine whether gender bias in AM/FM Country radio programming, and thus the exclusion of female viewpoints from Country radio airwaves, could reasonably be expected to get even worse at local market levels if the Commission were to loosen the Local Radio Station Ownership Caps or eliminate the AM/FM subcaps. 

"More studies are needed to identify the extent to which consolidation of radio station ownership at local cluster levels correlates with a lack of representation of people of color (both recording artists and air talent) on AM/FM airwaves," they continued. "In our experience, consolidation of AM/FM radio station ownership has been particularly harmful to urban radio audiences, recording artists and programmers.”

Their conclusion: “We oppose any effort by bigger broadcasters to loosen local ownership rules which, if allowed to proceed, would prevent independent stations and smaller, local AM/FM radio station clusters from competing against increasingly large AM/FM ownership groups,” said TREVOR FRANCIS of the MUSICFIRST COALITION. “Increased consolidation will mean fewer choices, less diversity of content and voices on the air, and far less localism for AM/FM listeners. The FCC should stand with local broadcasters and block this attempt by bigger radio ownership groups to get even bigger.”

“Independent AM/FM radio stations already have a difficult time competing in their communities with larger AM/FM clusters who wield comparatively enormous local market share,” said KEVIN ERICKSON of the FUTURE OF MUSIC COALITION. “If allowed to proceed, the NAB’s proposal could all but eliminate independent radio stations and smaller radio clusters in small markets all across AMERICA. Music creators support local and independent radio, and we plan on making sure that their voices are heard in opposition to this ill-conceived proposal.

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