LA Times Report: Legal Probes Put Musical Chill On Some PDs

A report in the LA TIMES (4/8) indicates that some programmers who are unsure of the rules, which are in some cases vague, have slowed down the amount of new music being exposed or added accoding to research, in the wake of NEW YORK STATE Attorney General ELIOT SPITZER's and now the FCC probe into pay-for-play.

In that article, RADIO ONE Urban KKBT (100.3 THE BEAT)/LOS ANGELES PD TOM CALOCOCCI was one of the few PDs quoted on the record. "No programmer wants to draw attention by choosing songs too far outside the mainstream." He also said, "fear of regulatory scrutiny has made radio executives less willing to play emerging bands."

Radio also bemoans the legal hoops they have to jump through to work with labels to do a promotion. GREATER MEDIA Rocker WMMR PD BILL WESTON noted, "If I want to accept 25 CDs to give away on air, I have to forward paperwork all the way up to the vice president. The new rules take forever. It's hardly worth the trouble."

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