After FCC Chairman Brendan Carr called into question whether or not iHeartMedia is properly compensating artists for their performances, the broadcaster has responded, asserting it is in compliance with federal laws.
On Monday, Carr sent a letter to iHeartMedia CEO/Chairman Robert Pittman requesting a list of all musicians who are scheduled for the upcoming iHeartCountry Festival, and to describe the compensation, financial or otherwise, they will receive for performing.
In his letter to Pittman, Carr expressed concern that some broadcasters might be compelling musicians to perform at station events or festivals for free (or for reduced compensation) in exchange for more favorable airplay. “When unreported, these schemes can violate federal payola laws,” Carr wrote.
In a new statement shared with Radio World, iHeart said it will quickly respond to Carr’s eight questions, as requested in the letter. Carr gave Pittman a timeline of 10 days to fulfill his request.
An iHeartMedia spokesperson provided the following statement on Wednesday. Radio World is sharing it in its entirety below:
We appreciate FCC Chairman Carr’s interest in ensuring the radio industry is compliant with all applicable laws and regulations and will be responding expeditiously to the specific questions posed in the Chairman’s letter about iHeart’s upcoming country festival.
The commission’s recent enforcement advisory to the radio industry as a whole stated that manipulating airplay based on artist participation in station events without proper disclosure violates federal laws.
We look forward to demonstrating to the commission how performing at the iHeartCountry Festival — or declining to do so — has no bearing on our stations’ airplay, and we do not make any overt or covert agreements about airplay with artists performing at our events.
The iHeartCountry Festival provides the same kind of promotion that we see with artists on talk shows, late night television, the Super Bowl and in digital music performances and events: the promotional value to the artists is the event itself, and, in our case, is unrelated to our radio airplay. We’re very proud that over the years we’ve had artists ask us to be a part of the iHeartCountry Festival, and in fact we’ve had artists make repeat appearances over the years because it is an important event that enables them to reach our audiences and enhance their careers.
The commission earlier this month issued an enforcement advisory, stating, “When payola causes stations to broadcast programming based on their financial interests at the expense of community responsiveness, the practice is inconsistent with localism.”
Comment on this or any article. Email radioworld@futurenet.com.
