AP Independent music labels are close to invading commercial radio, and they can thank Eliot Spitzer for the airtime.

The American Association of Independent Music, the Federal Communications Commission and the four radio groups under inquiry in the pay-for-play scandal are close to a deal to ensure more independent music makes it to the airwaves.

The agreement would also end the FCC's investigation into alleged "payola."

"It's at the FCC commissioner level right now, and Senator Russ Feingold has weighed in on it as well," said Peter Gordon, one of A2IM's founding board members and lead negotiator. "It's something that's been hanging around and they're seeking a resolution.

"This is definitely happening," Gordon said. "Everyone wants to move this along."

FCC Chairman Kevin Martin neither confirmed nor denied that a deal was in the works, but said he was aware that FCC commissioners Jonathan Adelstein and Deborah Taylor Tate had "reached out" to interested parties in the federal probe.

The deal centers around four major conglomerates -- Clear Channel Communications Inc., CBS Radio Inc., Entercom Communications Corp. and Citadel Broadcasting Corp. -- who as of December 2005 owned almost 1,700 radio stations.

The quartet came under FCC investigation after then-New York Attorney General Eliot Spitzer exposed an industrywide payola scandal in 2004. CBS and Entercom settled with New York state last year, but all four are still under investigation by the FCC.

This deal, called a consent decree, would basically absolve the radio groups of any past wrongdoing in exchange for opening their gates to indie record labels.

Martin is scheduled to appear before the Senate Commerce Committee on Feb. 1, so the agreement could be finalized before then.

CBS Radio declined comment Wednesday, and a message left with media relations representatives at Clear Channel were not immediately returned. Messages left at listed numbers for Entercom and Citadel were also not immediately returned.

WHAT'S THE DEAL?

The A2IM wrote a letter to the FCC shortly after the investigation began, asking for measures that would guarantee independent labels equal access to radio programmers. The FCC in turn invited the trade group to the negotiating table to work with representatives from the four conglomerates.

"We were brought in to hammer out a framework of a working relationship between radio and the record industry," Gordon said. "We came in to create the radio 'rules of engagement,' to spell out what is access, what is transparency. Traditionally it's been a pretty murky world out there and we wanted to bring transparency to it, what (stations) can do and what they can't do."

Gordon is realistic about the settlement and didn't call for a massive upsurge in indie rock. He's hoping instead for a more organic reaction: that the public reacts well to limited doses of indie music and asks for more.

"The concept here is to provide a starter mechanism for our music," Gordon said, "with the hopes that it spreads into mainstream airplay."

Gordon said a provision of the deal requires radio groups to set aside a block of time (between 30 minutes and 90 minutes) exclusively to showcase independent and local artists. And it wouldn't stop with indie rock.

"This is not restricted to the rock format, as our sector involves hip-hop, R&B, country etc.," Gordon said, "but targeted for stations with the appropriate demographics."

Gordon's proposal calls for the indie music quota to be played between 6 a.m. and midnight. He also expects the radio groups to agree to actively promote the block. All to escape the shadow of a multimillion dollar investigation.

WHAT CAN WE EXPECT?

Realistically, the indie quotient can only go up from where it is now. According to Gordon, under 10 percent of the content on commercial radio is independently produced, even though 80 percent of the records released in America come from independent labels. This might have something to do with radio playlists overlapping by up to 97 percent, a shocking number reported by the not-for-profit Future of Music Coalition in December.

Gordon said the formats most likely to see an indie influx are alternative rock, hip-hop, dance and alt-country.

But don't expect the right side of the dial to start rivaling your iPod. Ben Goldberg, founder of the indie label Ba Da Bing Records, has worked in the independent record industry for almost two decades and believes commercial radio will continue to pick songs based on the market, indie or not.

"What's going to benefit here are (independent) labels with major-label affiliations," Goldberg said. "These labels will have major distribution, major promotion, but will look like separate business entities. It will be a complete wash."

In other words, expect more indie versions of Creed.

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Otis Hart is an asap reporter in New York. Associated Press writer John Dunbar in Washington contributed to this report.

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