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Up to the minute notes on the current state of free thinking and free living: Kentucky moonshine - original analysis and reporting from MoreThings, and all round pop culture museum of sight and sound - photo galleries, mp3 and video downloads.
Al Barger and MoreThings - getting people's goats since 1998.
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December 14, 2006
George Jones and Porter Wagoner versus consumer choice
In June, the FCC re-opened the hot issue of media ownership limits, including the number of radio and television stations one owner can have, and limits between owning newspapers and tv or radio stations. The FCC moved to loosen those limits in 2003, but a Philadelphia federal appeals court threw them out, as they have decided that the FCC must justify regulatory changes to their court and that they have not sufficiently done so.
Thus, starting from October, the FCC has arranged six public hearings. On Monday, December 11, this show touched down in Nashville. The highlight of the opposition was apparently the testimony of a couple of country singers of yesteryear who showed little or no insight into business.
I'm second to none in my fanhood for the great Porter Wagoner, but brother Porter seemed less than convincing in claiming that Dolly Parton couldn't have a hit with "Jolene" today. Why is that? I say that song would be a hit today - and may well be again when some younger gal covers it. And why would it be up to the FCC to make sure new bands get on the radio? Would it be somehow the responsibility of the federal government to make sure that Dolly had a hit?
Far worse, George Jones emerged momentarily from his lifelong drunken stupor to make what were apparently supposed to be wisecracks. From John Gerome's AP article:
several writers and performers addressed the panel. Most urged the commissioners to put more restrictions on media ownership or at least hold the line on current regulations.
"I'm not against companies making money," said country music great George Jones, who said he and his fans have suffered under tighter radio playlists that he says are often determined by a relative few with little knowledge of country music history.
"But you know, sugar is sweet, but too much can kill you," Jones said to loud applause from the crowd at the Mike Curb College of Entertainment and Music Business at Belmont University.
Jones also told the panel, "We don't need to make a move any further in the wrong direction."
That's not even a vague attempt at being reasonable or thoughtful, but cheap populist demagoguery from the Possum. See, the public is anxious to hear the continuing great art of the aging George Jones, but he and the audience are being suppressed for some reason by the radio programmers cabal.
"Sugar is sweet, but too much can kill you" What is that nonsense even supposed to mean? That "wrong direction" crap is meaningless opinion poll speak.
Not to put too fine a point on it, but perhaps the weak market for George Jones in recent years is not the result of some sinister industry cabal, but simply catering to tastes in the market. Maybe the nice suburban listeners are more interested in a handsome young man in a cowboy hat who shows up for his shows sober rather than the cynical old drunk with more interest in booze money than music.
Meanwhile, lacking star power and armed only with facts and logic to give the pro-business view, former chairman of the Tennessee Association of Broadcasters Bayard Walters noted that there are more commercial radio licensees in the US today than in 1972.
Most beautifully, Mr Walters got right to the heart of the responsibilities of broadcasters. "There are those that say broadcasters don't do enough, but what is the balance in presenting local and new music versus what the public seems to indicate that it wants to hear through ratings and purchases? It does not seem to me that the license says, 'Market for free the music of whomever wants to be on the radio.'"
The underwear gnomes of the radio industry don't give a crap about art - nor should they. If they are REALLY there to serve the public, they will play what the most customers want to hear. They do that. They get punished by the market if they don't.
The problem is that the public doesn't want to hear what some folks think that they should want to hear. Thus, they're going to try to manipulate government regulatory agencies and the courts to try to make radio stations play what the losers think their listeners SHOULD have wanted. Why would anyone presume to have such right?Labels: country_music
posted by Al at 12/14/2006 06:25:00 PM
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