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Maybe it’s like music all becoming the same — because a form of AI had been used to predict what people would like — and unsurprisingly, it is more of the same

• drannex 3y ago
  Music is more varied than it ever has been, you just have to look outside of legacy media (ie, radio). > Music played on the radio used to be a lot more varied and take chances. Music played on the radio is owned by a handful of conglomerates who own nearly all 'local' music stations across the country (assuming US). This is all due to deregulation starting in 1996. Before 1996, a company was prohibited from owning more than 40 stations, and from owning more than two AM and two FM stations in one market. [1] In an effort to paint a picture of the landscape of radio media, the United States was reported to have 15,445 commercial radio stations in the year 2020. With broadcasting corporations factored in, the statistics look something like this: - iHeartMedia, Inc. owns 858 total stations - Cumulus Media, Inc. owns 429 stations - Townsquare Media owns 321 stations - Entercom owns 235 stations Similarly, in the UK, it was found that 60% of national commercial radio stations were owned by two companies, Global, and Bauer. To take it even further, these same companies were reported to own 70% of all local broadcasting channels. [2] Monopolies are hell and anti-consumer. [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Radio_homogenization https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Radio_homogenization [2] https://bestradios.co.uk/why-do-radio-stations-play-the-same-songs/ https://bestradios.co.uk/why-do-radio-stations-play-the-same...