A2IM’s Filing: Read our FCC petition response comments here.
In November of 2014, a coalition of Radio Broadcasters sent a petition to the FCC to change Sponsorship ID rules. The key proposed elements of the petition include:
• All sponsorship/pay-for-play programming would be announced collectively only once per daypart (e.g. AM Drive, PM Drive) initially then only once daily. The given example announcement was “some of the music [and/or] sports programming that you hear on this station is sponsored [or paid for] by Interscope, Sony, Universal Records, or the Washington Nationals. For additional information, please visit our website at www.WXYZ.com or contact the station at 12345 Main Street, Washington, DC 20036, info@wxyz.com, or 202-555-1234.”
• Under the guise of “harness[ing] the power of the Internet in an innovative way”, the petition leaves the burden of transparency as to the airplay that has been paid for up to the public to research directly on their own time on the Internet.
• Opens the door to more unrestricted “pay for play” required payment initiatives by the AM/FM radio broadcast groups .
Changing the SID rules in the manner suggested by the Radio Broadcasters Coalition petition would do serious harm to program diversity, the independent music community, radio listeners, and would be contrary to the public interest.
Without greater, not lesser, radio access, many Independent labels with limited budgets and their artists will find themselves outbid for airplay by larger companies with deeper pockets. Changing the Sponsorship ID rules would exacerbate the existing problem of Independent music label airplay access.
Read our public comments to their petition here.
Related:
ACTION: Radio Broadcasters Petition to Change Pay for Play Requirements
A2IM Comments on FCC Media Ownership Rules (2010)
A2IM Comments on FCC Media Ownership Rules (2012)
A2IM’s Filing with the FCC in Billboard
