FCC Forces iHeartMedia Into Compliance Plan Over Payola Scheme

Brendan Carr’s FCC just forced iHeartMedia to overhaul how it treats artists after a payola investigation exposed the radio giant’s festival scheme.

The FCC just handed down a major ruling that’s gonna reshape how radio stations treat artists, and it all stems from what the FCC’s calling “showola” at iHeartMedia.

The radio giant agreed to a consent decree with the FCC to settle an investigation into whether it was dangling airplay in front of artists who performed for free or at low fees at company festivals, and the implications are massive for anyone trying to make it in the music industry.

The whole thing started when Senator Marsha Blackburn caught wind of what was happening and tipped off the FCC back in January 2025.

She’d heard about radio stations offering artists more spins if they performed at station-hosted events without pay, which is basically the modern version of payola.

The FCC took that seriously and launched a full investigation, specifically looking at iHeart’s Country Festival in Austin last May, where artists were allegedly pressured to perform for free or reduced fees in exchange for better radio rotation.

iHeart’s been denying the claims, telling the FCC that artists perform at its events for exposure and promotional value, not because they’re being promised extra airplay.

The company also said it takes its sponsorship identification obligations seriously and already has procedures in place.

But the FCC wasn’t convinced enough to let it slide without some serious new requirements.

According to Deadline, the consent decree doesn’t include any fines, which is interesting considering how serious the investigation was.

Instead, iHeart’s gotta develop a whole new compliance plan within 60 days that includes appointing a compliance officer, establishing annual reporting, creating a training program, and establishing a whistleblower hotline for employees to report violations.

What’s really important here is that this settlement applies to all of iHeart’s live music events going forward, not just the country festival.

The company’s got to disclose its anti-payola policy to artists and provide detailed information about how performances at iHeart events connect to airplay decisions.

The decree stays in effect for three years, giving the FCC time to monitor whether iHeart’s actually following through on these commitments.

Related