What happened
Bruce Springsteen is having a tough time getting his new album Magic played on radio stations owned by Clear Channel, despite the fact that the record is number one on Billboard’s chart and has sold more than 500,000 copies since being released on October 2nd. According to an article in FoxNews.com, industry insiders are claiming that Clear Channel has told its classic rock stations not to play songs from the record, although they can still play tracks from older Springsteen albums.
What the commentators said
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Looks like Clear Channel is censoring again, said Dirk McQuigley at DailyKos.com. Springsteen’s album is very political—“he’s embraced his inner progressive voice and has not looked back.” Everybody knows that Clear Channel “has deep ties to the Bush Administration and the Republican Party.” It sure seems like they don’t “want Springsteen on the air where some impressionable” listener “might agree with the Boss about the state of our union.” Remember what happened to the Dixie Chicks in 2003? “Clear Channel punished” them “for expressing their opposition to the war in Iraq.”
This is obviously a case of ageism, said Roger Friedman in FoxNews.com. “Clear Channel has made it clear “that at age 58, Springsteen simply is too old to be played on rock stations.” And he’s not the only artist that’s affected by this: “There is no sign at major radio stations of new albums by John Fogerty or Annie Lenox, either. The same stations that should be playing Santana’s new singles with Chad Kroeger or Tina Turner are avoiding them, too.”
Springsteen’s album isn’t getting played because radio stations don’t want to fix what ain’t broken, said Idolator.com. “The only major rock format that even plays artists like Springsteen” is “‘classic rock,’ a format that seemingly adds two or three songs to its play lists a year.” If there’s anyone to blame, it’s “scaredy-cat programmers who are afraid to upset the ‘getting the Led out’ apple cart.”
