Mac McCaughan Discusses "Future of Radio" in Senate

As evidenced by the cover of the most recent Portastatic record, Mac McCaughan can rock a suit even in the most adverse conditions. And while his appearance yesterday, October 24, in Congress was hardly Armageddon, he still performed stylishly under pressure.

The Superchunk/Portastatic frontman and Merge label head spoke to the U.S. Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation at a hearing called "The Future of Radio" (unrelated to the House of Representatives' Girl Talk-referencing copyright hearing). According to the Committee's website, the purpose of the hearing was to "assess the state of innovation and competition in the radio market."

McCaughan's testimony stressed the important role non-commercial radio has in introducing independent musicians to wider audiences, citing Merge cases like the Arcade Fire and Spoon, both of whom had albums debut in the Billboard Top Ten this year. He also touched on the power of the internet and the need to maintain network neutrality so that commercial and technological experimentation can continue.

Toward the end of his testimony, McCaughan urged the Committee to resist corporate pressure to loosen ownership restrictions in order to avoid a potential media monopoly: "It's been widely reported that the FCC is considering altering the media ownership rules again and loosening the local ownership caps to allow major radio groups to buy even more stations in each market. No matter what your tastes in entertainment or news, if you value localism, competition and diversity, Congress and the FCC must recognize that further deregulation is not the answer."

He concluded by saying, "Artists who thrive outside of the commercial realm depend on and deserve open access to public platforms such as the airwaves and the internet. Likewise, communities and citizens should have access to localized and diverse media. This is not just a means of doing business, but also an important facet of American life that needs to be nurtured and protected."

The testimony is available in PDF format here and as a streaming video here; we recommend checking the whole thing out, even if only for fashion tips.