Telecommunications Act of 1996

[Mr. Dictator]

Wikepedia

What do you think of it? It gave Clear Channel the right to dominate what you hear and the such.

Personally, I'm against it. I support laissez-faire but not when it stagnates an industry.

The music industry is in shambles and many blame bad music. Many also complain of the tactics of Clear Channel and consider it the cause. So wouldn't this act hurt the music industry?

Look back at the 60s-80s, would any groundbreaking band have made it if Clear Channel was around? NO.

 

[skadistic]

Radio is so 1990s and before. This act opened up other avenues for artist to get out there. Necessity is the mother of file sharing. And I mean legit stuff like free downloads on bands websites, myspace and the like. Little bands have more play now then 10 years ago. I have found music I love that would have impossible to find not to long ago.

 

[Mr. Dictator]

but thats thanks to the internet.

this act gave clear channel the right to own an unlimited amount of radio stations thereby determining what gets really big.

 

[skadistic]

but thats thanks to the internet.

this act gave clear channel the right to own an unlimited amount of radio stations thereby determining what gets really big.

Not just clear channel any business can own any number of outlets. I honestly stooped listening to the radio around 1996. Not because clear channel screwed it all up but because all the stations played bull. No mater how many stations they own there will be competition (Or so says the law but monopoly law is so weakly enforced its worse then immigration law).

 

[sonorakitch]

I remember when President Clinton signed it I was a bit worried about the long term effects.

I think it should be re-examined.

~Chris

 

[Mr. Dictator]

Not just clear channel any business can own any number of outlets. I honestly stooped listening to the radio around 1996. Not because clear channel screwed it all up but because all the stations played bull. No mater how many stations they own there will be competition (Or so says the law but monopoly law is so weakly enforced its worse then immigration law).

but in 1986 there were 80 major media companies, now there are 5.

so prices are determined by 5 companies. culture is determined by 5 companies.

wouldnt the music industry be in better shape if there was more competition?

i sincerely think the industry will never regain footing as long as this bill is on the books.

 

[skadistic]

but in 1986 there were 80 major media companies, now there are 5.

so prices are determined by 5 companies. culture is determined by 5 companies.

wouldn't the music industry be in better shape if there was more competition?

i sincerely think the industry will never regain footing as long as this bill is on the books.

In the 50s there were hundreds of record presses pumping out songs. Give it time and the freeness of the webs will compensate. Media, all media is changing rapidly. Yes the big dog is getting bigger but the little guy is making stride. Radio sucks anyway. With pod casts and satellite radio the tide will turn. Store sales will diminish and big business will crash for it is unwilling to adapt and embrace the future. Now stop crushing my hope for the future and look for the bright spot and focus on it to make it bigger and brighter until it illuminates the world in its greatness.

 

[Mr. Dictator]

In the 50s there were hundreds of record presses pumping out songs. Give it time and the freeness of the webs will compensate. Media, all media is changing rapidly. Yes the big dog is getting bigger but the little guy is making stride. Radio sucks anyway. With pod casts and satellite radio the tide will turn. Store sales will diminish and big business will crash for it is unwilling to adapt and embrace the future. Now stop crushing my hope for the future and look for the bright spot and focus on it to make it bigger and brighter until it illuminates the world in its greatness.

but this is about more than the radio, it's about who makes it big. who ends up selling out arenas and who has a legacy.

and keep in mind people said the radio was dead when tv came out

but i see what you're saying for the most part.

 

[skadistic]

but this is about more than the radio, it's about who makes it big. who ends up selling out arenas and who has a legacy.

and keep in mind people said the radio was dead when tv came out

but i see what you're saying for the most part.

I think a good band can make it with good music regardless of a backing by the evil empire. Every band started in a garage some where and worked the local gigs then by word of mouth made it to the Roxxy or 9:30 or CBGBs. Record companies look for the next big thing and the current also was. The power can be in the hands of the consumer. Support your local bands buy their 7inch (do they still press records) and don't buy the mass produced flavour of the week. Of course its hard to change the face of pop culture when ten billion teenybopers are sucking on the straw of blandness because they must be cool and conform to the in thing. None of my freinds like my music, one guy likes a few songs but the genra as a whole he can't stand. Now I'm getting mad that corprate radio is crap.

 

[Mr. Dictator]

but do you think the beatles would make it today?

 

[skadistic]

Not if I had any say in it.

Not in the current culture climate but I know what you're getting at. I think they could but it would be under Virgins label and clear channel would have to play it or risk losing listeners to some one else and losing ad revenue because of fewer listeners. If a new British invasion hit it would be detrimental not to play the songs.

 

[Mr. Dictator]

Not if I had any say in it.

Not in the current culture climate but I know what you're getting at. I think they could but it would be under Virgins label and clear channel would have to play it or risk losing listeners to some one else and losing ad revenue because of fewer listeners. If a new British invasion hit it would be detrimental not to play the songs.

what i was getting at is that change is the enemy of clear channel. it is in their interest to keep the trends from changing so much so they keep pushing one genre down everyone's throats.

 

[Mr. Dictator]

ohwell, i found the chairman of the FCC's e-mail address and sent a complaint to him.

i kinda doubt my words carry weight in his mind though

 

[skadistic]

what i was getting at is that change is the enemy of clear channel. it is in their interest to keep the trends from changing so much so they keep pushing one genre down everyone's throats.

Your right change is bad for Clear but even worse is lose of viewers to some upstart little stations. If the population latches on to the next thing and clear doesn't follow it will lose money. Of course it would take some thing bigger then the fab 5 to do it. I thing we are reverting to before the 50s when you had 3 radio stations that dictated the music sceane. Just like all those little record presses poped up and changed music history a bunch of guys on Macs with mass burners will take back the music industry. Monolithic dinosaurs will fall under their own arrogence given time.

 

[skadistic]

ohwell, i found the chairman of the FCC's e-mail address and sent a complaint to him.

i kinda doubt my words carry weight in his mind though

The FCC is run by retards and corrupt ******** politions unless that complaint had enough money to feed half of africa with it you won't be heard. Now I'm sad.

 

[Mr. Dictator]

The FCC is run by retards and corrupt ******** politions unless that complaint had enough money to feed half of africa with it you won't be heard. Now I'm sad.

yeah, here's the email.

i tried to raise some good points and sound polite. unfortunately i was still a bit baked

Spoiler :

Hello Sir, my name is Andrew Hooper. I am just a normal kid, I like music as much as anyone and I love the radio. Unfortunately, I have to say that the Telecommunications Act of 1996 was a disgusting piece of legislation. Government allowed monopoly? No thanks. Clear Channel has its money hungry fingers wrapped around much of our nation's cultural output and I just want to know why?

Is there anything good that this act did for America? It seems to me that it only made a handful of men more powerful and richer. I have no problem with people getting rich or anything but when it stagnates the growth of the music industry I get a tad unnerved.

If you look at the music industry up until 1996 it was actually a pretty good scene. It was progressing naturally is what I'm trying to say, I guess. But with Clear Channel's newfound power, they managed to standardize what America heard. Of course, the music industry has been faltering since. I ask you to do what you can to get this piece of legislation out of the books.

After all, do you think any of the groundbreaking artists of the 60's, 70's, and 80's could have made a dent in our culture if Clear Channel was around?

 

[skadistic]

Not bad. Far more nice then I would have put it. But I deal with these kind of morons all the time and can't stand them at all.
Thanks to the FCC my choice went from comcast to comcast and verizion for TV and from verizion to comcast and verizion for phone. And my high speed chioce is Comcast at 8meg or Verizion at 3megs. So I'm a slave tocomcast for everything but my phone. Yay Vonage! I hope the FCC doesn't screw up royaly on the net neutrality thing like they have on everything else.

 

[amadeus]

You should start challenging the monopolies that really threaten your livelyhood (i.e., the state) before you become concerned about somebody owning "too many" radio stations.

 

[Mr. Dictator]

You should start challenging the monopolies that really threaten your livelyhood (i.e., the state) before you become concerned about somebody owning "too many" radio stations.

how does the state threaten my livelyhood?

and its more than radio stations. its the media period.

i dont like 5 companies deciding what i see and hear. simple as that.

@ska, you work with the FCC all the time? where do you work?

and yeah, i've got comcast...it sucks.

 

[skadistic]

I work in and around D.C. so I see the FCC,FAA,FBI,NSA,CIA,GAO,NIH, and every other 3 letter government beuro. They are all sucky morons and I just work in their buildings not with them thank god.