Payola pact could boost airplay for indie music

But it wasn't good enough to be heard on commercial radio.

That now may change. Four of the nation's largest radio-station chains have agreed to air thousands of hours of music from independent record labels and local musicians. The accord with an independent music group came as the companies were working out a settlement of a federal inquiry into allegations that radio programmers illegally received cash and gifts from major record labels in exchange for playing songs without revealing those deals to listeners.

"It's a watershed moment in our industry," Peter Gordon, who helped negotiate the airtime provisions as a board member of the American Assn. of Independent Music, said Monday.

The Federal Communications Commission's "pay for play" probe involved Clear Channel Communications Inc., CBS Radio Inc., Entercom Communications Corp. and Citadel Broadcasting Corp. The radio chains, which didn't admit wrongdoing, agreed to pay a collective $12.5 million in fines and dedicate a total of 8,400 half-hour segments to independent music over the next three years. A few details of the agreement, under which the chains wouldn't admit wrongdoing, were still being worked on. Any settlement would require approval of the panel of commissioners.

Andy Levin, Clear Channel's executive vice president and chief legal officer, said the FCC found no rule violations and that the company was pleased to "close the door" on the investigation. The other chains did not comment Monday.

Given the history of big record companies' secretly giving money, airline tickets and other gifts to stations to play their music -- a practice called payola that is illegal when listeners are unaware of it -- many independent labels don't even try to get lesser-known artists on the air.

"You almost see that as a lost cause," said Gordon, president of Thirsty Ear Recordings in Norwalk, Conn., which released Sex Mob's "Sexotica" album.

FCC Commissioner Jonathan S. Adelstein, an amateur musician who helped broker the settlement, said the fine would be one of the largest ever by the commission and could be a breakthrough in the fight against pay-for-play conduct.