CLEAR CHANNEL FACES
ANTITRUST ACTION

Salon's Eric Boehlert, who has written extensively (some would say exclusively) about Clear Channel's "aggressive business practices," reports that indie concert promoter Nobody in Particular Presents (NPP) filed a federal antitrust suit in Denver federal court this week.

The action alleges that Clear Channel, owner of some 1200 radio stations and most of the live concert promotion business in the U.S., leverages its dominant position in radio by threatening to withhold airplay and on-air concert plugs unless artists and record labels use its concert promotion business. The action is said to accuse CC of being an illegal monopoly and using predatory and anticompetitive business practices.

Wait—are we sure they're not talking about Microsoft?

The Salon story goes into detail about how people are allegedly scared shitless to go up against the 8,000-pound gorilla—yes, 10 times the size of your average bossy gorilla—but says the owners of NPP feel they have no choice, since they're being driven out of business anyway. NPP maintains that anyone who books with them is penalized by Clear Channel for doing so by being kept off the company's stations. Lew Wasserman must be very proud.

Given the recent attention given to the DOJ's interest in the business dealings of nascent major-label digital delivery consortia MusicNet and Pressplay, it's only natural to wonder if there isn't similar interest on the part of regulators in Clear Channel's affairs. But given that Dubya and CC kingpin Lowry Mays are Texas homeboys, it will likely surprise no one if said regulators find other investigation targets more compelling for the time being.