Broadcasters request to waive on-air sponsorship disclaimers

[Kurt]

Presuming this would include things like iHeartRadio premieres where hourly airplay is announced as being brought to you by the company and/or the label. From the New York Times:

A group of radio broadcasters has asked for changes to federal rules about how stations disclose paid programming, raising fresh concerns about one of the music industry’s most enduring scandals — payola.

In a petition to the Federal Communications Commission, nine broadcasters — including major ones like iHeartMedia, Cox, Emmis Communications and Entercom — requested a waiver to longstanding requirements that stations say on the air when a sponsor or promoter has paid for a piece of programming, like a song.

Instead, the radio companies want to move these disclosures online, arguing that they would be more thorough and convenient there. The change is in the public interest, the broadcasters said, “because it would result in listeners’ having access to more information in a more user-friendly and satisfying way.”

read more

[Glove Slap]

Not surprising.

[Libra]

No, what they want is to move the disclosures away from most listeners altogether. Ideally I suspect they'd simply like to see them abolished, but that'd be a non-starter.

[YourFaveIsAFlop]

Honestly what's the difference? Do consumers care when they hear "New Music By (insert artist name), brought to you by iHeartMedia" at the start of the song that plays at the top of the hour on every iHeart station in the country for 3 days straight?

[Deleted]

Mar 17, 2015 14:21:57 GMT -5 YourFaveIsAFlop said:

Honestly what's the difference? Do consumers care when they hear "New Music By (insert artist name), brought to you by iHeartMedia" at the start of the song that plays at the top of the hour on every iHeart station in the country for 3 days straight?

I was kind of thinking that, at first. But I wouldn't doubt there is a certain subset of people who are probably turned off when they hear a song has a radio deal, yet are all for a song when they think it's taking off on its own. I wonder if this is about the fact that some people are more apt to buy into something when they don't know how hard it's being sold to them.