June 20, 2002 — The Future of Music Coalition has released the results of its public-opinion survey on citizens' satisfaction with commercial radio. The survey found strong public support for policies to counteract the effects of radio consolidation.

The survey is part of a larger research study looking at the effects of radio consolidation on musicians and the public. The study is being conducted in partnership with Media Access Project and the Rockefeller Foundation.

The telephone survey, conducted May 13-20, 2002, asked respondents a wide variety of questions about radio; from basic listening habits, to opinions about programming and available content, to opinions about the role of Congress in addressing issues such as radio station ownership consolidation and "pay-for-play" issues.

Specifically, the survey indicates the following:

• Consolidation of radio station ownership is not popular. Eight of ten favor congressional action to protect or expand the number of independently owned local stations
• By a better than ten to one ratio -- 76 percent to 7 percent -- radio listeners believe that DJs should be given more air time for songs they think will be of interest to their audiences rather than be required to mostly play songs of artists backed by recording companies
• If it can be substantiated that radio stations are paid to give air time preference to the music artists supported by record companies, the public approves by a 68 to 24 percent ratio for Congress to consider passing laws to ensure that all artists have a more reasonable chance of having their songs heard
• Half of the respondents -- 52 percent -- say radio would be more appealing to them if it offered more new music, less repetition and more music of local bands and artists
• By a ratio of six to one, radio listeners prefer a long, rather than a short, playlist that provides them a greater variety of songs and less repetition during the week
• Seventy-five percent would like to see low power FM (LPFM) stations expanded in their communities, especially if they offer (a) the music of local bands and artists, (b) talk shows on issues of local interest and (c) health, science or fitness programming. Additionally, 74 percent favor legislation to expand the number of LPFM stations in the United States.

The public opinion research firm Behavior Research Center conducted the survey from May 13-20, 2002 via 500 in-depth telephone interviews on a random sample of adults throughout the United States.

Commenting on the study results, Earl de Berge, Research Director of the Behavior Research Center and Editor of the Rocky Mountain Poll, said: "Since its inception, radio has been a vanguard technology that Americans have relied on to deliver information and music. Today, half of listeners say radio no longer delivers well on the music side of the equation and another fifth of the public (17 percent) does not listen to radio at all. This seems to reflect their desire for a menu of music that is both more varied and more reflective of cultural change as measured by themselves, and not by folks in media boardrooms."

"We see these results as an affirmation that citizens are not just passive listeners; they care about the quality and diversity of music available on the airwaves," said FMC's Executive Director, Jenny Toomey. "More importantly, they're clearly unsatisfied with programming trends that have come into effect as a result of radio consolidation in the recent years."

Radio is a public resource that has been managed on the public's behalf by the Federal Communications Commission since 1934. In a country as large and culturally diverse as America, radio remains an important localized medium for the transmission of news and entertainment.

Radio is also important to the music industry. In the traditional music business model, radio is seen as the best -- and possibly only -- way to "break" a record. Except in some rare cases, breaking a record on commercial radio is prerequisite to the sale of the hundreds of thousands of copies that are needed for labels to recoup costs.

Despite its importance to broadcasters, advertisers, musicians, labels and the listening public, there is mounting evidence to support the theory that the traditional commercial radio model is broken. The consolidation of radio station ownership that has occurred since the 1996 Telecommunications Act has had a dramatic effect on the state of radio. The FMC, funded by a grant from the Rockefeller Foundation, is currently conducting extensive research on how these regulatory and economic changes have affected two constituencies that are often left out of the debate -- musicians and the general public. The other portions of the study will analyze the effects of consolidation on the radio industry, playlist content, and musicians' access to commercial radio. The FMC expects to release its complete report in September 2002.

The Future of Music Coalition is a Washington, DC-based not-for-profit collaboration between members of the music, technology, public policy and intellectual property law communities. The FMC seeks to educate the media, policymakers, and the public about music / technology issues, while also bringing together diverse voices in an effort to come up with creative solutions to some of the challenges in this space. The FMC also aims to identify and promote innovative business models that will help musicians and citizens to benefit from new technologies.