Whilst writing my post last week, it occurred to me that Spotify would’ve fallen flat on its face had it not garnered the support (or rather, lucrative deals) from the four major labels- “major players” in the industry, if you will.

However, record labels are not the only multinational corporations that (essentially) decide the path of the industry, and what we hear. Earlier in the week I was introduced to “Clear Channel Communications”, a large multinational corporation that hold a huge monopoly over airwaves, live concerts, promotion, ticket sales and even advertising.

I am ashamed to say I’d never heard the name prior to a lecture mid-week.

What struck a chord about the company was that I’d never seen their “face” or logo- or at least, I THINK I hadn’t, but their mark is left everywhere, even if it is not instantly apparent. They own Ticketmaster, which is my one-stop shop for all my gigging needs, and I’m pretty sure I’ve driven by many of their adverts on the billboards lining the A40.

Delving a little deeper, it turns out they own more than 900 radio stations- bringing in $3.5 Billion in revenue as of 2005- $1 Billion more than second place, the formidable CBS Radio. They own 1,500 broadcast transmission towers. “Vertical real estate” so to speak; and as concert promoters they have U2, Madonna and Jay-Z to name a few. They even own the rights to all of U2’s merchandise and sponsorship, supposedly bringing in over $100 million in the 12-year period they are signed for. Clear Channel’s net income for 2007 was just shy of $1 Billion. This isn’t exactly small change, and it’s a corporation within an industry I consider myself passionate about, that I hadn’t even heard of.

After some brief Internet searching, it didn’t take long to find a lengthy list of criticisms and controversies surrounding the company. Notably: monopoly of the airwaves, monopoly of music-event ticketing, strict self-policing of its assets (i.e. “stars”- remember the Janet Jackson Wardrobe debacle?) and chief among them, censorship. Clear Channel refused to allow any “anti-Bush” campaigning on its airwaves, even if the opposition PAID for the message. This list is the tip of an iceberg.

Such harrowing controversies beg the question, “Are these corporations with their infinite pockets and huge monopolies [over the industry] right?” Bear with me, I understand that money can buy you anything, power and silence included; and I may be dipping into naïve utopian territory, but should there be policing involved with something so integral to everyday life as the radio; the advertising you see and music you hear? As far as I’m aware I’ve not seen a restricting law passed- but would that be a positive, and who can be trusted to police it? Would policing their conduct remove their fundamental freedoms of Speech? May be, but its fair to say that Clear Channel Communications seem to be limiting free speech across the airwaves (particularly) on their own accord.

I’m not asking these questions to give an answer myself, but to provide some food for thought.

It was only this week I’d heard of Clear Channel Communications, after all.