Musicians rocked for peace in the 1960's. They rocked for Africa in the 1980's. Now they're rocking for stricter corporate media regulation. Tom Morello took the stage with musicians like Billy Bragg, Steve Earle, Lester Chambers and Boots Riley. Here the raging was mainly against the star of media consolidation, Clear Channel Communications. "This is about radio, TV and who owns your newspaper. We have to make sure the media represents everybody." Some musicians argue that consolidation of recording labels and radio stations has homogenized music across the country and stifled free expression. It is becoming more difficult for new artists to break into the mainstream, and the quality of music is suffering. In 1998, many artists realized that their own interests were not necessarily aligned with those of the recording industry. |