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BROOKE GLADSTONE:
This is On the Media. I'm Brooke Gladstone.
BOB GARFIELD:
And I'm Bob Garfield. The big news in the music industry last week was about a, quote, "good-faith agreement" to bring more independent music to the airwaves. Four of the biggest radio station groups, Clear Channel, Entercom Communications, CBS Radio and Citadel Broadcasting, pledged to devote 8,400 half-hours of programming to independent artists.

But exactly why would they do that? Well, the indie deal comes fresh on the heels of another radio shakeup. Those same four station groups will also pay a cumulative twelve and a half million dollars to settle a consent decree by the Federal Communications Communication targeting the problem of payola.

Payola is essentially bribery. It's when stations are paid by record companies or their representatives to play certain songs, and it's plagued radio for as long as there's been radio. The fines slapped on the stations were the product of an investigation that began in New York, where even larger fines were levied.

Paul Porter, a former broadcaster, is cofounder of the non–partisan think tank Industry Ears. He thinks it'll be hard to separate payola from radio. He's seen it firsthand.
PAUL PORTER:
Way back when I first got started in the late '70s, payola came in different forms. It could come from a little bag of weed to 50 dollars to a dinner at the Chinese restaurant to a plane ticket. [LAUGHS] And over the years, it's really, you know, turned into big money.
BOB GARFIELD:
So you're not saying it's gone from a little bag of weed to a giant [LAUGHS] bag of weed. It's gone corporate, has it?
PAUL PORTER:
Yeah. It's gone corporate and the stakes are up. You know, with the Telecom Act and consolidation, you know, there were a lot more owners before this. And, you know, when the Clear Channels of the world went from 40 stations to 1,200 stations in two years, you had one corporate playlist, and, you know, the stakes went up. So instead of the 50 dollars and a dinner, it's 20,000 dollars and a truck for your radio station and trips to Europe, and all the things that the local musician can't compete with.
BOB GARFIELD:
Payola obviously is corrupt, but the public is harmed specifically how?
PAUL PORTER:
Well, first of all, the airwaves are public airwaves, and radio stations are supposed to reflect forms of localism in news, information and even the music that they play. And when these companies that aggressively were bought in the late '90s, they lost all of that.
BOB GARFIELD:
We've heard most recently about payola in a big investigation by then New York Attorney General Eliot Spitzer – he's now the Governor – which in turn led to an FCC investigation that resulted in this landmark settlement. Tell me about that Spitzer case.
PAUL PORTER:
What they uncovered was tons of illegal activity. The Spitzer investigation came up with some guidelines and some rules. It hasn't changed payola, but in total they came up with 36 million dollars’ worth of fines that came from various record distribution companies. And once all that stuff got into the limelight, the FCC were forced to investigate.
BOB GARFIELD:
Well, I mean, the numbers are still big. The fine that these four broadcast conglomerates are paying is twelve and a half million dollars.
PAUL PORTER:
You think that's big?
BOB GARFIELD:
You know, that's not chicken feed.
PAUL PORTER:
Oh, that's chicken feed when you talk to companies that make billions of dollars. That's going to come out of, you know, a couple of Christmas bonuses. Look, just add it up. If New York State fined for one state 36 million dollars and the FCC, who's the governing body, is fining 12 million dollars for – you know, I mean, the numbers really don't add up.

BOB GARFIELD:
Hmm. And furthermore, nobody has admitted any wrongdoing.
PAUL PORTER:
Ah!
BOB GARFIELD:
What exactly does the consent decree [LAUGHS] dictate for these broadcasters?
PAUL PORTER:
Well, the consent decree basically says they're not guilty of anything but they're going to put in certain safeguards where they're policing themselves. And if they policed themselves in the first place, we wouldn't be at this point.

Part of the agreement that really everybody's sort of talking about and thinking is something is the 8400 hours of independent music that are supposed to be aired on these radio stations in retribution. Well, this document is not through the FCC. This is a separate agreement.
BOB GARFIELD:
I thought that the 8400 hours was in the final agreement.
PAUL PORTER:
It's not enforceable [CHUCKLES] by the FCC. That's where everybody's fooled. The FCC announced it but they have no enforcement, oversight at all.
BOB GARFIELD:
I gather it's your opinion that this consent agreement is just window dressing and that lobbyists have intimidated the FCC and made them bend to their will. Can you tell me how?
PAUL PORTER:
First of all, the RIAA -
BOB GARFIELD:
The Recording Industry Association of America.
PAUL PORTER:
Yeah. When the FCC wanted to add the indie music component, the RIAA's lawyers struck a deal with the FCC to say, hey, man, you do this, we're taking you to court. So the FCC walked away. You know, all I can do is hope that it's a step in the right direction.
BOB GARFIELD:
Well, thanks. I really appreciate it.
PAUL PORTER:
Okay. Thanks, Bob.
BOB GARFIELD:
Paul Porter is cofounder of the policy group Industry Ears.