Next week, the NAB’s Charles Warfield gets his chance to testify in front of Congress about the music industry’s newest attempt to extort money from the broadcast radio industry. SoundExchange CEO Michael Huppe made the claim that FM radio airplay actually hurts music sales. In fact, Huppe avers that if FM radio were to disappear tomorrow, sales of music would actually increase. If it wasn’t so irrational, it would be just plain insulting. Somehow Huppe tries to make the case that because some songs break on social media or on other digital channels, radio’s impact lessens because free airplay somehow hurts sales.
Denial, denial, denial. Or maybe it’s just desperate revisionist history.
But empirically, how can broadcast radio prove its true value to recording artists and music sales? Warfield could point to all the extra “advertising” musicians receive when their concerts are promoted – often at no charge – by radio stations simply trying to inform their local audiences. On-air and online, no one does a better job than broadcast radio of letting consumers know about how and where to buy and experience music.
But that might make too much sense for even Huppe to fathom. So let’s go with “The Santa Claus Argument.” If you remember the classic movie Miracle on 34th Street, the existence of Santa was ultimately proved by the millions of letters that children write him around Christmas time. Using the U.S. Post Office, the Kris Kringle’s defense had bags and bags of mail delivered right to the courthouse.
Warfield might try the same tactic. That’s because every year, the recording industry on behalf of its artists bestows gold and platinum albums to radio, thanking hundreds of individual stations for their support. These colorful plaques, hanging on the walls of most radio stations in America, are symbolic of the contributions that are made on behalf of these artists by broadcast radio every hour of every day.
You may recall that back in 2009 when the same flimsy case was being floated by musicFirst, we put together a successful campaign where stations from around the U.S. sent us photos of all those gold and platinum records hanging on their walls – proof positive that radio makes a valuable contribution to the music industry.
The accompanying blog post appears below, and makes as much sense today as it did four years ago when we wrote it. And linked are the files containing the thousands of pictures we received from radio stations big and small. Mr. Warfield, if we could ship the actual gold and platinum records to Washington, we could have another “Miracle on 34th Street” photo op for you. Instead, these files will have to do. Of course, for the cost of a few print cartridges and several reams of paper, you could print up thousands of exhibits that prove the value of broadcast radio airplay – acknowledged by the labels, managers, and artists themselves.
Here is the original post:
“Going For The Gold” – By The Numbers
March 17, 2009
What a long, fun week it’s been. We have happily concluded our very successful “Going For The Gold” initiative. What started out as an experiment has turned into a major statement about radio combating musicFIRST’s efforts to slap broadcasters with royalty fees/taxes.
“Going For The Gold” was an idea that originally came from Emmis/St. Louis’ John Beck, and we thank him for the inspiration. Chuck DuCoty and Mary Quass of NRG were also instrumental in its success.
Here are some key totals:
- More than 2,800 gold and platinum awards
- More than 200 contributing radio stations
- Participating stations represent 40 of the 50 states, plus the District of Columbia
- Markets range from New York and L.A. to Kearney, NE, and Casper, WY
We received gold and platinum albums from major stations that are household words in this industry, as well as call letters that you’ve never heard of. The fact that this campaign included everyone from big companies to the mom & pop radio stations, and from Urban, Country, Rock, AC, Pop, and even Comedy should tell you how resonant and far-reaching it became. We even received some “heavy metal” from private collectors and consultants. I would encourage you to leaf through more than 80 web pages of awards, and marvel at the breadth and scope of these symbols of radio’s value to the music industry.
Jacobs Media would like to thank the CEOs, group executives, programmers, managers, DJs, and everyone else inside and outside radio who contributed their collections and made the effort. We would also like to thank the heads of all 50 state broadcaster associations who lent their support. The industry trades were also instrumental in getting the word out. And of course, the folks at the NAB who know a good idea when they hear one. Finally, the staff at Jacobs Media, many of whom dropped everything to make this happen.
“Going For The Gold” will send a message to those who have attempted to diminish radio, and its long-time contributions to music and pop culture. It should also send a message to those who think this business no longer has clout or purpose. When we pull together, we can get it done.
Jacobs Media has consistently walked the walk in the digital space, providing insights and guidance through its well-read national Techsurveys.
In 2008, jacapps was launched - a mobile apps company that has designed and built more than 1,300 apps for both the Apple and Android platforms. In 2013, the DASH Conference was created - a mashup of radio and automotive, designed to foster better understanding of the "connected car" and its impact.
Along with providing the creative and intellectual direction for the company, Fred consults many of Jacobs Media's commercial and public radio clients, in addition to media brands looking to thrive in the rapidly changing tech environment.
Fred was inducted into the Radio Hall of Fame in 2018.
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Sorry to be late to the party on this, but if radio airplay actually hurts music sales, why is the music industry still paying promo people for ads on radio? If that were true, they would be paying record reps to keep new music OFF of radio wouldn’t they?
That said, its time for radio to trade a broadcast performance royalty for a streaming royalty structure that would allow streamers to make a reasonable and comparable profit – one that would include everything from Pandora/Spotify/AccuRadio to terrestrial streams.
As more people chose to listen to music on their phones, streamers have no way to make a buck doing it – that has to change and a concession will be necessary to make that happen.
Meanwhile testifying before congress to counter the argument that radio airplay hurts music sales is like testifying that the moon really isn’t made of green cheese. Radio needs to be taking a much more aggressive posture on this subject IMO and switch from defense of offense. Most people love their favorite radio station and hate the record business. That’s a good place to start!
Bob, thanks for reinforcing the insanity of the music industry’s case. Clearly a “grand bargain” is necessary across the entire streaming spectrum. But this approach by SoundExchange defies logic. And as you suggest, it should be aggressively refuted. Thanks for the comment.