Reidy’s latest column for The Hooligan deals in part with the fact that Clear Channel not only own entirely too many radio stations, but also has a monopoly on concert promotion – imagine if Premier owned Austereo – and is now being sued for anticompetitive behaviour by NIPP (Nobody In Particular Promotions) of Denver.
Business Week and the Denver Post also cover the lawsuit.
CRUSHING PRESENCE? In Denver, where Clear Channel owns 628 billboard displays, the 3,600-seat Fillmore Auditorium, and eight radio stations, including all of the area’s rock stations, NIPP partner Jesse Morreale charges that “there’s way too much potential conflict of interest here.”
“Absolutely,” said Lee Larsen, regional vice president and Denver market manager for Clear Channel’s radio division. “It’s nice to talk about the good old days, before deregulation … but the reality is, things are a lot different now.
I’ve been in the radio business for 40 years, and my view is that radio has never been stronger, or better, for consumers than right now,” Larsen added.
From The Hooligan:
Which brings me to Clear Channel: Clear Channel pretty much owns everything. Any corporate rock band like Limp Bizkit or Creed would be nuts not to deal with Clear Channel when they come to Denver. All these bands are dependent on record sales to get them their next million. If they don’t deal with Clear Channel on their next swing through Denver, they might not get the support they need to pay for their Ferraris. Clear Channel has pumped their lame music into the ears of all the dullards across the country, so they feel obliged to pay back the favor. This is what this lawsuit is all about.
[…]
The local Denver concert promoters love music. The guys I know who work at the Bluebird wouldn’t have worked there all this time if they didn’t enjoy the being around the music scene. Can you say the same for ol’ whats-his-name at Clear Channel? No, you can’t because it’s a faceless corporation that only cares about packing you in their shitty venue to watch a shitty band. When’s the last time you heard a run down of the local shows on KBPI? For all I know KBPI could be broadcast from California and the DJ’s are told to say “Go Broncos!” once a week.
Clear Channel supports nothing local except itself. And until that changes, I cannot support Clear Channel. Oh and one more thing: Clear Channel is based out of Texas. For Christ’s sake, if that isn’t a good enough reason right there, I don’t know what is.
Are you suggesting that Premier have any power in the live music scene whatsoever? Maybe they did in the ’80s but not anymore.
Back in the ’80s, when there was a live music scene …
Next you’ll be telling us Sunbury isn’t on this year!
For another comparison, how about Austereo putting on events like Rumba?
I agree, Austereo/Rhumba is a Clear Channelesque move if I ever see one.
Although, things might get interesting when CC enters the market fully here, well interesting in a business sense, probably not in the radio sense (according to some usenet posts, they own half of the Australian Radio Network, and may be getting the other half, but remember, its usenet) :)
Promotional concerts like Rhumba are a pretty common radio station ploy across the USA, Clear Channel or not. The main difference is the ticket price: Rhumba was pretty expensive for a promotional exercise.
Can someone fill me in on how grossly outside the broadcast charter Triple J step each time they “present” a tour. I was fairly sure they were not allowed to do such a thing. They are also trying to make their “presents” exclusive meaning community stations like 2SER and Triple R miss out on the crucial advertising dollar required to keep running.
it is not out of the ABC charter for Triple J to promote events like the bdo if they are a ‘promoter’. It’d be like saying ABC TV shouldnt promote the ABC stores.
Triple J gets its name on BDO advertisements, and BDO gets its name on Triple J, and i’m sure some money changes hands as well. This is entirely within the ABC charter (although i think this is only a reasonably recent thing, around 1995 or 93?).
It is a commerical transaction, and therefore, why shouldnt Triple J be the only radio station promoting a particular event? It makes business sense. Unfortunately, thats the way things go. I think you’ll find 2SER and Triple R and Triple Z find smaller, local events to promote.
premier still have some pull, especially gerard. If you dont take his latest shithouse $500 piece of pox that whoever has just signed you don’t get the half a dozen bands who can fill yer room and save you from ythe sack for another month.
artistic beautiful non premier fitzroy bands last pulled a punter who actually drank in the 80s
Let’s take your points one by one:
it is not out of the ABC charter for Triple J to promote events like the bdo if they are a ‘promoter’. It’d be like saying ABC TV shouldnt promote the ABC stores.
Lees and West are the promoters of the Big Day Out, not the ABC.
Triple J gets its name on BDO advertisements, and BDO gets its name on Triple J, and i’m sure some money changes hands as well. This is entirely within the ABC charter (although i think this is only a reasonably recent thing, around 1995 or 93?).
Advertising isn’t mentioned in the ABC Charter. But it is mentioned in the ABC Act, S.31 of which makes it pretty clear: ‘(1) The Corporation shall not broadcast advertisements.’ So, I hope you’re not alleging what you appear to be alleging – because that would be a gross violation of the law on the ABC’s part.
The reason JJJ is able to broadcast the BDO promos is… well… er… Subsection (2) of the same section of the act lets the ABC broadcast ‘a program supplied by any organization or person engaged in artistic, literary, musical or theatrical production or in educational pursuits’. Um, so… do thirty second promos of the BDO count as programs, then? Or is there something I’ve missed?
Point taken. The premier roster is pretty dire though and Gerard is a toss-pot.
Here is the Harbour roster, which is almost the same thing… mmmm, check out the J listings:
JACK HOWARD
JACK JONES
JACKIE BRISTOW
JAMES REYNE
JENNY MORRIS
JIG ZAG
JIMMY BARNES
JOANNE
JOE CAMELLERI AND THE REVELATORS
JON STEVENS
JOSH ABRAHAMS (DJ SET)
JUBESTAR