Clear Channel wanted to sponsor Britney’s ‘Dream within a Dream’ tour supporting ‘Britney’ and so did Concerts West. Clear Channel were the biggest tour promoters at the time and she had worked with them on all of her previous tours, however, despite her original plans to go with Clear Channel as her tour promoters once again, she went with Concerts West for the first time.
Concerts West were also a strong touring company, however, they were also in charge of 7,000 movie theaters throughout the country and Britney had ‘Crossroads’ coming out, so they decided to go with them in order to promote the tour and the movie at the same time, thinking it was a win-win situation.
Clear Channel owned a mass majority of US radio stations (over 750 stations from over 150 cities) and had a list of artists that shouldn’t be played. Their excuse for the list was that radio stations had the ability to choose who they play, depending on their audience. After Britney announced that Concerts West were going to promote her tour, she was added to the list. She wasn’t the only one they did that to (the same happened to Dixie Chicks, for example.) Several court documents were filed talking about how unjustified and unfair it was.
Quote:
01/22/02
The Honorable John Ashcroft
U.S. Attorney General
Department of Justice
950 Pennsylvania Ave. NW
Washington DC 20530
The Honorable Michael K. Powell, Chairman
Federal Communications Commission
The Portals II
445 12th Street SW
Room 8B201
Washington DC 20554
Dear Attorney General Ashcroft and Chairman Powell:
I write to express my serious concern about vertical and horizontal integration in the radio, television, and concert promotion industries. Specifically, I am concerned that Clear Channel Communications, Inc. has negatively affected recording artists, owners of sound recording copyrights, consumers, advertisers, and competitors in the radio and television industries.
Clear Channel’s consolidation of the radio and concert promotion industries has had a variety of negative repercussions on recording artists, copyright owners, and consumers. Clear Channel has “punished” recording artists, including Britney Spears, for their refusal to use its concert promotion service, Clear Channel Entertainment, by “burying” radio ads for their concerts and by refusing to play their songs on its radio stations. The consolidation of the radio industry also lends growing support to persistent allegations that record companies often must pay radio stations to play the music of their artists.
These actions have obvious, negative implications for consumers, both through higher concert ticket prices and reduced selections of broadcast music. To the extent your respective agencies have jurisdiction to do so, I believe you should investigate and fully prosecute any violations of the antitrust laws or FCC regulations that have occurred in the above-referenced circumstances.
I am also concerned about related reports of “parking” or “warehousing” of radio and television stations by Clear Channel. These reports allege that Clear Channel has intentionally flouted FCC rules limiting ownership of multiple radio and television stations in numerous markets around the country, including Monterey, San Diego, San Francisco, Hudson NY, Catskills NY, Charlotte NC, Chillicothe OH, Oklahoma City OK, and Waco TX. Clear Channel often arranges for third parties, shell corporations, or related entities to buy radio and television stations in markets in which Clear Channel has already reached the ownership caps or been faced with public opposition or regulatory scrutiny. Clear Channel allegedly has arranged to officially “buy” these stations when, and if, the FCC lifts those caps.
I believe you should fully investigate these “warehousing” and “parking” allegations, and if true, should prosecute any violations of law. These acts may be illegal in and of themselves, and are likely to exacerbate the negative effects, outlined above, that consolidation has had on recording artists, copyright owners, advertisers, and consumers. It is also apparent that any investigation of possible antitrust violations by Clear Channel must consider the existence of “warehousing” or “parking” arrangements.
I would appreciate the favor of a reply at your earliest convenience concerning your agencies’ plans on this matter.
Respectfully,
HOWARD L. BERMAN
Member of Congress
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SOURCE
They went unnoticed, because Clear Channel was too powerful.
Prior to the blacklist, ‘Slave’ was actually receiving a good amount of airplay, hitting top 15 on Pop, top 5 on Dance, and #85 on R&B (becoming her first entry on the chart.) The blacklist finally ended in November 2003, shortly after the release of ‘Me Against The Music.’
