Consumers Want Variety and Localism from Radio
Washington, D.C. (May 7, 2019)– Today, following a recent comment filing to the FCC against the weakening of the Local Radio Station Ownership Rule, the musicFIRST Coalition released data showing that further consolidation of radio station ownership would run directly counter to what consumers are looking for in radio.
A Morning Consult survey of 2,201 adults across various demographics throughout the country showed that 79 percent of respondents feel that variety of content, voices and artists is very or somewhat important to them when choosing a music listening platform. However, in the current state of the marketplace, only 14 percent of respondents attribute that quality to radio. Additional consolidation will only further exacerbate this problem.
While variety is clearly a priority for listeners, so is localism. Nearly half of all respondents prefer independently-owned radio stations to those run by large corporate conglomerates. This preference holds true across numerous demographics, including gender, age, political leaning and income level.
When confronted with the potential for additional consolidation, nearly half of all respondents think local radio will be most hurt, with another third indicating that emerging artists will be most negatively impacted.
“Simply put, the public is looking for diversity and localism in radio,” said Trevor Francis of the musicFIRST Coalition. “The FCC has a responsibility to deny efforts to eliminate these from the marketplace, which weakening of the Local Radio Station Ownership Rule would effectively accomplish. It’s time for the FCC to listen to the people, not corporate broadcasters, and keep local radio local.”
The survey and top-line findings can be found here.
Today’s release is part of a broader effort launched by the musicFIRST and Future of Music Coalitions against further consolidation of radio ownership.
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