Homogenization of Radio: Let us all give thanks and pay grateful homage to Clear Channel

Like a beast from the blackness it came, sending shivers down the spine of indie artists, DJs, and listeners everywhere. A force unparalleled in its hunger to consume, it cast a dark shadow across the nation. Forcing mediocre formulaic music and political censorship down the throats of the American people, it became obvious that we would all have to bow down and worship the new radio gods, Clear Channel. A conglomerate like any other, only this corporate money machine would attack our art by becoming the ultimate gatekeeper in the world of music.

How many times have we turned on the radio, only to change the channel, and then having exhausted all options, simply turned it off and thrown in a cd or plugged in an iPod? Why are we constantly bombarded by music devoid of any thoughtful intrinsic meaning, from bands that are neatly and categorically placed in a rotation that sounds like one continuous droning song with the same three chords and pop-punk harmonies? I’ll tell you why. It’s easy to sell to people who don’t think. It’s easy to market because it requires nothing of the listener, and we are a lazy, uneducated, complacent people. There, I said it. If it makes you angry, tough. If you don’t know what complacent means, then I’m talking about you.

When one company owns all the radio stations, then one company says who will be heard and who will not. The corporate trend is to divide and conquer, and Clear Channel is no exception. Nothing has been more detrimental to the music business than the homogenization of radio programming. After buying up radio stations like they were going out of style, and removing from most DJs the ability to play a variety of music, what we’re left with is the same 15 songs by 15 artists that are carbon copies of each other. I don’t know any artists who only have one specific musical influence, so how can so many bands sound exactly the same?

Standardized corporate-controlled radio encourages new bands to sound, write and look a certain way because it’s what sells, and why else are we in a band but to get famous, right? But consumers, to their credit, do get bored easily, and stop buying music product because it all sounds the same. And then we dive into the wonderful world of digital piracy. They wonder why people don’t buy cd’s anymore. You can’t stand amazed that a group of rich unaccountable tycoons want to get richer by dominating a market, no more than you can scratch your head at a dog’s vigorous interest in another dog’s backside. Neither can you fault consumers who, confronted by an onslaught of artistic mediocrity, opt to take matters into their own hands through the advent of technology. I am an indie artist, and I don’t mind if people burn copies of my cd’s for their friends. If it gets them out to my live concerts and spreads the message I’m sending, then its worth it.

There are many systems of control that shape our lives in this great nation we call America. They govern our daily lives on most fronts, our political and spiritual views, but it is undeniably more personal when they attack a people’s access to art by filtering and bottlenecking anything that does not fit perfectly into the mold. Is one person’s art not as good because they don’t have a major label spending hundreds of thousands of dollars in bribes to Clear Channel to put them in rotation? Is there something wrong with the countless unsigned bands that are making the real music and doing the real work in this industry? The truth is, it’s not about how talented you are, or how good you’re songs are. It’s about who you know. It’s about being lucky and making yourself fit into the construct of what is easy for the masses to understand and easy for the movers and shakers to sell. It’s about not rocking the boat, or the vote. Its about adhering to an image associated with an idea that will resonate with consumers, and when the vast array of demographics have a 30 second attention span. . . you get the idea.

By stonewalling artists without major representation, regardless of how amazing or even commercial their music may be, corporate controlled radio helps to keep the masses running in their hamster wheel, and places responsibility on the individual consumer to seek out new artists and new musical experiences. To boldly surf the net for new artistic inspiration. So lets keep the Internet neutral or we’ll all be royally screwed.

Jordan Page is a young poet, singer/songwriter, guitarist, political activist, and social commentator. His songs call attention to issues most people would choose to ignore because of their overwhelming nature. With western culture so bombarded and enveloped by mass media and entertainment, Page's solution is to use music to break through the apathy and isolation these influences cause. To learn more about Jordan Page please visit his myspace page at www.myspace.com/jordanpagemusic .