Stop Clear Channel!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[dsp909]

"Clear Channel owns over 1,200 radio stations and 37 television stations, with investments in 240 radio stations globally, and Clear Channel Entertainment (aka SFX, one of their more well-known subsidiaries) owns and operates over 200 venues nationwide. They are in 248 of the top 250 radio markets, controlling 60% of all rock programming. They outright own the tours of musicians like Janet Jackson, Aerosmith, Pearl Jam, Madonna and N'Sync. They own the network which airs Rush Limbaugh, Dr. Laura, Casey Kasem, and the Fox Sports Radio Network. With 103,000,000 listeners in the U.S. and 1,000,000,000 globally (1/6 of the world population), this powerful company has grown unchecked, using their monopoly to control the entire music industry. "

"Clear Channel Entertainment produces and promotes live music concerts by the world’s most popular performers and the brightest up and coming artists. The Music Group currently owns, operates and/or exclusively books 135 live entertainment venues, including 41 amphitheaters in the U.S. and 30 venues in Europe.
In 2001 the Music Group generated approximately 70 percent of concert ticket revenue in the U.S., and produced more than 30 major music tours by such performers as U2, Madonna, Janet Jackson and *NSYNC.

The Music Group continued to expand it U.S. promoter network in 2001 with acquisitions of top concert promoters in Cleveland (Belkin Productions), Denver (Chuck Morris Presents) and Phoenix (Evening Star Productions).

Clear Channel Entertainment now operates in nine European countries and is actively building a European footprint to match that of the U.S. with acquisitions of concert promoters and other live entertainment producers in the UK (ITB, Solo, Planit Promotions), Belgium (Herman Schueremans, Make It Happen) and Italy (Milano Concerti, Trident Agency)."

http://www.clearchannelsucks.org

http://www.clearchannel.com

Ps - you can also rent bilboards or advertising space and they will quote you rates based on location and if it's marketed toword hispanics, african or general public!!!

http://ratecard.clearchannel.com/RateCardExternal/frameset.asp


(yes, i know this may be old news, but it's still going on.)

 

[defazman]

and?

Those numbers are somewhat misleading. Saying they have 1 billion listeners doesnt mean those people also listen to alternative stations. So what if they own 60% of rock programming, that doesnt indicate how much overall prgramming they controll when you take country, r&b, easy listening and whatever else into account. It could be more like 20% of the total market. That's hardly a monopoly.

Racial market segmenting is nothing new, nor do I see a problem with it.

 

[~atp~]

Originally posted by defazman
and?

Those numbers are somewhat misleading. Saying they have 1 billion listeners doesnt mean those people also listen to alternative stations. So what if they own 60% of rock programming, that doesnt indicate how much overall prgramming they controll when you take country, r&b, easy listening and whatever else into account. It could be more like 20% of the total market. That's hardly a monopoly.

Racial market segmenting is nothing new, nor do I see a problem with it.

You have to look at the larger context. The major fear is founded in the fact that politicians and lawmakers in the U.S. are perfectly willing (eager really) to roll back the regulations that traditionally restrict media ownership and encouraged good competition.

Eliminating these restrictions, it is easy to see major trends such as the war path that clear channel is on, and how incredibly harmful it is to the general public.

You might also be interested in reading more about clear channel...their practices are truly terrifying.

Before passage of the 1996 Telecommunications Act, a company could not own more than 40 radio stations in the entire country. With the Act's sweeping relaxation of ownership limits, Clear Channel now owns approximately 1225 radio stations in 300 cities and dominates the audience share in 100 of 112 major markets. Its closest competitors -- CBS and ABC, media giants in their own right -- own only one-fifth as many stations.

Accusations abound that Clear Channel illegally uses its dominance in radio to help secure control of the nation's live entertainment business. Several cities, including Denver and Cincinnati, have charged radio station managers with threatening to withdraw certain music from rotation if the artists do not perform at a Clear Channel venue. This tactic, known as "negative synergy," has allegedly been used to pressure record companies into buying radio-advertising spots in cities where they want to book concert venues.

With this anti-competitive tactic of leveraging airplay against concert performances, Clear Channel has firmly solidified its hold in both areas. As a result, Clear Channel now owns, operates, or exclusively books the vast majority of amphitheaters, arenas, and clubs in the country. It also controls the most powerful promoters, who last year sold 27 million concert tickets. That is 23 million more than the closest competitor.

...

Clear Channel is currently facing antitrust lawsuits from plaintiffs around the country, ranging from an Illinois concert goer concerned with soaring ticket prices to the nation's largest Latino-owned radio company.

Alleging monopolistic behavior, however, is not the same as convincing a judge to move towards a trial. But last summer a small Denver-area concert promoter, called Nobody in Particular Presents, sued the media behemoth for antitrust violations, claiming that it "has used its size and clout to coerce artists... to use Clear Channel to promote their concerts or else risk losing airplay." The judge agreed to hear the case, and ruled that the evidence is "sufficient to make a case of monopolization and attempted monopolization under Section 2 of the Sherman Act."

More information:

http://www.guerrillanews.com/media/doc879.html
http://www.mediaaccess.org/programs/diversity/index.html
http://www.cjr.org/tools/owners/
http://www.reclaimthemedia.org/