Is Clear Channel selling hit singles?
Is radio airplay sacred? Senior executives at Clear Channel insist it is. Facing accusations that the radio and concert giant uses its song playlists to reward its friends and punish its enemies, Clear Channel programmers deny they would ever tamper with what goes out over the airwaves in order to make a buck. Record company insiders aren’t so sure, and they point to episodes like the one involving pop/soul singer Eagle-Eye Cherry. Last fall, when MCA Records was trying to launch a new single from the promising Cherry, the label turned to Clear Channel for help. Thanks to 1996 legislation that radically deregulated the radio industry, Clear Channel, with more than 1,200 radio stations nationwide, has become America’s largest broadcaster. It’s also become the most important and controversial gatekeeper in the music business today. “You cannot have a hit record without Clear Channel,” explains one record company chief. MCA came calling specifically because Clear Channel had recently unve
