Clear Channel, CMT Deal Means More Homogenization
Clear Channel, the largest radio provider in the US, just struck a massive deal with CMT, a division of Viacom, to create national country music programming to be distributed across 125 country radio stations owned by Clear Channel, as well as some digital and television platforms. The move is meant to match a similar national syndicated format created by the second-biggest radio provider in the US, Cumulus, who launched the NASH-FM national country network on 70 separate radio stations earlier this year.
The historic deal means more programming will be created on a national level, and distributed to local stations. Though Clear Channel says the new deal will be good for local radio stations because it will give them access to national-caliber talent and programming through their syndicated network that local stations would otherwise not have access to, the move continues the trend for radio to lose its local and regional flavor in favor of programming catering to a national audience.
Cumulus insists that stations in its NASH-FM network are able to choose how much or how little of the national programming they wish to run, allowing local program directors an element of control over preserving the local flavor of a station. But there’s no word on whether the Clear Channel network will give its stations similar latitude.
No word yet either if the move will mean the loss of jobs by local DJ’s similar to when Clear Channel slashed local talent in favor of national programming in October of 2011, but CMT personality Cody Alan has been announced as the host for the syndicated radio show “After MidNite” scheduled to start in January.
What the CMT/Clear Channel deal also means is not only a consolidation of programming across multiple radio markets, but also across multiple media platforms. With CMT programming crossing into radio, and vice versa, and digital media formats also getting into the game, the homogenization of country music media can only continue to increase, effecting not just the local programming of radio stations, but also the local artists who rely on radio play to either get their start on a national career, or sustain a local one.
December 4, 2013 @ 12:48 pm
And the death of terrestrial radio continues…
December 4, 2013 @ 1:42 pm
Assimilation is complete…resistance is futile.
This was bound to happen, I guess. Two monoliths of pop-country media fusing together. The only possible way I can see any good coming from this is if some of the CMT Edge-branded content sneaked onto the radio. Is that possible?
December 4, 2013 @ 1:44 pm
Indeed the patient is on life support and the plug is ever so slowly being pulled. Thankful every day that in my market and others around Texas family owned independents still exist and on a smaller scale have thrived for many years.
December 4, 2013 @ 4:51 pm
This isn’t good, but I don’t know anyone under 35 who listens to the radio for their music. I think with internet, satellite radio etc. people have more options to hear good music than ever before.
December 4, 2013 @ 11:40 pm
Sorry Mike but I refuse to pay for Radio. The influx of pop country in “COUNTRY” radio has only inspired me to buy “INDEPENDANT” music or back track to the FM radio stations that play the earlier rock that I semi ignored but am growing fonder of. Still allot of fond memories in the music that once sucked hind teet to yesterdays “COUNTRY!”!
December 5, 2013 @ 8:19 am
Good news is you don’t have to pay for radio with smart phone apps for all kinds of great music options plenty of non tradtional choices that are free. There is a lot more than just clear channels I Hart radio app ou there. The few good over air radio stations that are out there usually have apps that allow for live streaming someday it may drive the corporate giants out of bussiness. I have not had sirrus in years and do not mes it at all.
December 4, 2013 @ 5:28 pm
FM radio should die. Everybody, let’s start using the aux jacks in our cars/buying radios with aux Jacks and bring down these conglomerates.
December 5, 2013 @ 6:50 pm
I’m gonna have to settle for an MP3 Radio Adapter in my car but if nothing else I’ve been going exclusively to the CD Player since I was practically in High School so this CMT Clear Channel thing means nothing to me
December 7, 2013 @ 2:44 pm
Same, the only country station in town has been pop country since the days of Garth Brooks, so I’m not exactly their target audience. What does concern me though, is the vast quantities of people who do listen to that station, and their willingness to let Nashville herd them like sheep in order to turn a profit. I’m a senior at a suburban high school in New York state of all places, and the amount of people who wear Camo hats, consider themselves “Country” and believe Luke Bryan is a good artist has skyrocketed as of late.
Now, I don’t think pop country is the worst thing in the world. Yeah it’s pretty stupid, but in the right situation, with the right people, it can be enjoyable. There’s a good number of people who recognize it for what it is (cheap fun), and listen to it anyway alongside other forms of music. Then there’s the people who devote their entire music tastes to a combination of Luke Bryan and Jason Aldean. (and also Wiz Khalifa, which is why country rap exists), and show up to school wearing Timberland boots, Carhartt, and a Duck Dynasty hat. They’re all a bunch of wealthy suburban kids that have been presented an appealing “fake country image with College levels of alcohol,” and have literally bought into it. Somehow, none of them seem to realize that they’ve allowed their behavior and self image to be manipulated by a bunch of corporate suits with the interest of making money.
That’s why I have a problem with FM radio, it helps to give rise to this ludicrous conformist image that’s inescapable. Too many people want to be in the Duck Dynasty crowd, and not enough just want to be their own person.
December 4, 2013 @ 6:01 pm
Country radio play more women and great country music, less pop and mediocre songs. That is all.
December 4, 2013 @ 7:05 pm
Cody Alan for After MidNite? Well, After MidNite, it was a great 20 years, but when you start letting Florida-Georgia Line, Luke Bryan, and Jason Aldean guest-host, you might as well give your show away to the gatekeeper of country cardboard cutouts.
December 4, 2013 @ 11:58 pm
Agreed! Hell Yeah! They can throw in a Taylor Twit Hour and follow it up with a Good Ole Oops Hour from Garth(Why you should save better for retirement)Brooks!,…ah hell, if were really lucky they might throw in an ode to music died with a rendition of “Achey Breaky Heart. WOOOOOHOO! Country Music Lives!…sorry “Homogenization” I think it’s time to find that bucket I refer to as R-a-a-a-l-f!
December 4, 2013 @ 10:26 pm
This move just speeds up the decline that country music has been experiencing on radio. I gave up on radio a couple of years ago and listen to my music on my IPod. I do think it is important to support those independent radio stations that are trying to save country music. It is also critical that we support those artists that are not buying into the pop music that is being peddled as country music, whether it is buying their albums, attending their concerts or trying to pull in new fans.
December 5, 2013 @ 7:50 am
Maybe this is a stupid question, but why aren’t there more classic country stations on AM radio? Wouldn’t they be easier to get set up? WSM still operates its AM station, despite being on the web, and all.
I guess people might not be willing to listen to AM, but I sure would. Call me nostalgic, but it almost adds warmth to the songs….kind of like analog vs. digital, CD vs. vinyl, etc.
December 5, 2013 @ 11:15 am
A study from a while back found that listeners wanted more classic country on radio:
https://savingcountrymusic.com/study-listeners-want-more-classic-country-on-radio
The problem is that it’s not want listeners want, it’s how these huge corporations can be more efficient in serving as many stations as possible and cutting costs. There are horror stories out there about Clear Channel cutting a morning show that has been around for 20 years and has the best ratings in the market to replace them with a national show that gets half the rating. Why? Because in the end they make more money because they only have to pay one crew instead of 125 for the respective stations. So even though Clear Channel knows they’re losing listeners and underserving markets, they do it.
And anyone invested in 401K’s and such, believe it or not, you’re demanding this from Clear Channel because you’re invested in the company and demand profits.
December 5, 2013 @ 8:31 am
Folks, this is only signaling the end of a type of radio that we have seen for the last 50+ years only because there were no other options. This doesn’t mean a music genre is being killed off. FM/AM radio is like having a rotary phone in your home.
I laugh at people who say they will never pay for radio, yet they are paying for phone service, TV, internet of something similar at a level 100times that of 20 years ago. Or those that say they are sticking to buying independent albums…you think buying an album is cheaper than satellite radio?
I’m not a satellite radio salesman, nor do I think XM is the greatest thing (there is room for improvement). But I see this deal as a sign that “mainstream” stuff is hurting. They know they only have the attention of children, so they are trying to infiltrate every “free” or “quick hit” option out there, cause the easy money is in kids that don’t have the money nor attention span to really dig for quality stuff of any kind.
Clearchannel has to make ad money, so they lock up anything that is a free medium to the masses (kids) and then start marketing to them, rolling in the ad money.
These kids grow up and move on. Just like we did. Then they find quality music, just like we did.
Where did you get your musical influence? AM/FM radio? Why? Cause it was the only option.
So what if CMT and ClearChannel run the mainstream show??? As someone pointed out above, who over 30 is watching or following CMT online or listening to standard radio?
You have to know that everything will be effected and change over time. The CMA’s/ACM’s are horrible right now in quality of music. But they are a hell of a lot better in technical production. Anyone from 1976 wishing they could still watch the awards on a big fat ass TV with a 20inch screen?
Those award shows music quality probably won’t get better cause they are on “free” mainstream mediums. They only were great in the legendary past because that was the only medium, so that is where artists went.
The country genre will press on, and it is great currently and will be in the future regardless of ClearChannel. You think a corporation is bigger than music? If that was the case, why are we here today with so many varieties of music?
You just have to get up with the times…that doesn’t mean putting in painstaking effort to find true country music, it just means being up with the times. If you still have a rotary phone, sure, going to buy a cell phone might seem overwhelming. But my guess most of you hear managed that transition.
If you are still on AM/FM radio, well it’s free… you get what you pay for. And unfortunately, nearly everything costs something today.
That even includes going to a local bar to see a good local band. If you don’t have to drop $10 at the door, then your night will be $30 on drinks. That band is probably played on XM, which is about $.40 cents a day. Who’s refusing to pay and thinks they are getting ahead and making a stand???
December 5, 2013 @ 11:20 am
The point is everyone has a right to good music, and the easiest way to serve the masses is free radio. I agree with all that you’re saying, people have options. But if those people don’t know they have those options, or where to look for them, they won’t take advantage of them. I never listen to radio, but I obsess over its content because as it goes, so go the masses.
For years I laughed at anyone that thought that radio mattered because I felt it was only a few years from imploding as a format. But the thing is, with these consolidation moves, radio is shoring up its power and staying relevant, just like the mainstream music industry did after a decade of declining sales. Radio is still a very, very important format. As a consumer, I totally understand exercising other options. But that doesn’t mean it’s not an important issue that doesn’t effect millions of people’s listening habits.
December 6, 2013 @ 8:30 am
Trigger,
I agree everyone has the right to good music, but rights don’t mean free of charge. And please point me to truly free radio? I’m not sure what that is?
FM/AM stations, all that I know of, are collecting money through ads or membership support, so it isn’t free. It might be coming through your speakers for free, but to believe it is free and your right, that is an entitlement attitude. Not saying you as a person are of the entitlement crowd, but your comment ” the easiest way to serve the masses is free radio.”
It isn’t free, and I’m not sure who’s responsibility it is to provide free radio to the masses? Clear Channels? They are a corporation with the RIGHT to make money. The government? Doesn’t Iran’s gov. provide free radio to its masses.
We have an FM station up here that plays great music. But guess what, we support it with $15/mo. More than I pay for two XM subscriptions. NPR is supported by gov. funding, which is our tax dollars, so…again, not free.
…the more I think about your comment the more concerning it is.
I do agree with the right to good music. I just don’t see that is being taken away at all in any form here. Now if you can’t afford other mediums beside AM/FM radio, that doesn’t obligate any party that I can think of in America to step in and provide a “free good music service”.
You have the right to fire up a station and provide good music to folks….but I think you have been part of that type of initiative and found…it isn’t exactly free.
December 5, 2013 @ 8:46 am
there is still a problem with classic country stations. let me first say I love classic country but here are the problems. 1they only play classic country and not new artists doing traditional country. 2.they don’t limit themselves to traditional country. its all about decades so even on those stations you get really bad disco country stuff and now that the 90s was nearly twenty years ago a lot of that bleeds through so a lot of garth and wynonna get played. I don’t listen to radio at all. I buy cds of artists new and old that I like or I download their music.
December 5, 2013 @ 9:43 am
This idea seems to make sense. Many people do listen to AM radio, just ask Rush Limbaugh (: I think people are accustomed to tuning into AM for news, talk, and sports, not for music. This habit will be hard to break because people who listen to music on the radio tend to channel surf between different FM stations. One solution could be to put classic country stations right next to Limbaugh or any conservative talk radio on the AM dial, so that listeners can switch during commercial breaks.
The economics of classic country stations can also be challenging. I’d guess that classic country listeners tend to be older rural Americans who are not advertisers’ preferred audience. They are probably hard for advertisers to persuade because they prefer the things that have stood the test of time. There is little or no opportunity for “payola” revenues because the classic songs are not current. And the people who are most likely to listen to classic country stations live in small, rural markets that do not generate enough revenue to support more than a small handful of radio stations.
December 7, 2013 @ 8:55 am
CMT does do a few good things. I usually really enjoy CMT Crossroads. I really loved that last one with the Band Perry and Fallout Boy.
When that 80th Birthday Concert for Willie Nelson aired a few months back, I believe it was technically a CMT Crossroads episode. There was a section of it where Jack White was sitting on a couch with Willie Nelson and they sang ‘Red Headed Stranger’ together. While they were on those couches, Willie was talking about being a DJ early on and talking about those days when you could walk into a radio station studio and just hand the DJ a record and ask them to play it. This big grin came over Jack White’s face and he said something like he had no idea what that would be like (and he’s not a young guy – born in 1975).
I read this story once back in the mid 80’s I believe that Steven King had bought a radio station in his town just so there would be a station there that played a lot of good classic rock that he love (AC/DC and such).
December 9, 2013 @ 10:13 am
“AM and FM are being eliminated from the dash of two car companies within two years and will be eliminated from the dash of all cars within five years.”
Gulp. Really? Did someone really just say that?”
http://www.radioink.com/Article.asp?id=2626719
December 11, 2013 @ 9:30 am
This is yet another example of why SiriusXM is much better than what’s on FM these days. Outlaw Country and Willie’s Roadhouse are my channels of choice on SiriusXM.