A number of us have been trying to figure out if there is some FCC rule about playing spoken word material. This includes if your station is streaming. Obviously you can't play the seven deadly words or out and out slander. The issue is clean comedy routines.."Who's On First?" to any Bob Newhart bits. Were stations allowed to play Newhart's routines?
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Regulations about spoken word material
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Stations are and were not specifically “allowed” or disallowed to play any specific routines. There are regulations about profanity and obscenity that do not detail specific words, content or comedians. In fact, the rules are not even limited to comedy or recorded material.
It’s up to each station to determine how to follow those FCC regulations.
Slander is not part of those FCC rules and is a broader type of legislation.
Newhart wasn't known for bad language. Why would you ask about him, of all people?
There were stations like WRR 1310 that was a MOR station until some point in the 1970s (I think about 1975). An hourly feature was "Library of Laffs" at :45 past each hour with legendary and current comedians played. Back then that was Abbott & Costello to George Carlin and Richard Pryor. By about 1972 MOR had become softer Top 40 with very few crooners.
There were a number of stations that would play a comedy bit once per day. Usually during drive time.
Then there were the all-comedy stations, like the former KMDY-850 in Thousand Oaks, CA, or (more recently) KFNY-1440 in Riverside, CA. Neither lasted particularly long (about 6-10 years or so)
When I was working at KGRC in Hannibal, we played as a syndicated comedy feature, with quick bits from several comedians (including Richard Belzer before he started his dramatic career). It was usually "the funny side of ______". There are several service that supply comedy bits, and SiriusXM has comedy channels from clean to raunchy.
WDAF-AM used to play Andy Griffith's "What It Was, Was Football" routine at least once a day, usually in the mornings in the 90's. The morning guy David Lawrence (RIP) always had a joke of the day segment, too.
Audacy is still running "Comedy 99.5" in Denver on KQMT-HD2.
There was the American Comedy Network in the 90s. They provided comedy bits for radio stations.
The syndicated show Flashback was typically based on a different theme each week. Host Bill St. James would integrate songs, movie clips, and comedy bits that related to the theme or the year they were spotlighting.
You mentioned the 'seven deadly words,' and that was a bit by George Carlin. The recording was played on WBAI, and that led to a fine from the FCC, that ultimately went to the Supreme Court.
www.theatlantic.com
The syndicated show Flashback was typically based on a different theme each week. Host Bill St. James would integrate songs, movie clips, and comedy bits that related to the theme or the year they were spotlighting.
You mentioned the 'seven deadly words,' and that was a bit by George Carlin. The recording was played on WBAI, and that led to a fine from the FCC, that ultimately went to the Supreme Court.
The '7 Dirty Words' Turn 40, but They're Still Dirty
Four decades after George Carlin's legendary monologue, the law still can't decide how to handle publicly broadcast swearing.
As mentioned in the comments already, there are and have been multiple stations dedicated to stand-up comedy bits...
Audacy still has on on HD in Denver that used to be on a translator that at its peak had a three+ share.
But I think the answer you're looking for since many of these stand-up bits were released as an album or television special it that like playing music, I believe you need to pay royalties for on-air usage. There's not an FCC rule or law for or against playing them, but there are legalities as with anything you play on air regarding licensing. You can't just take copywritten material and use it.
Correct. Copyright is the same regardless of music or spoken word. There was a big issue about the Martin Luther King I Have a Dream speech. Motown actually owns the copyright to that recording, and when it's used, they get a royalty.
How Martin Luther King Jr. and Motown Saved the Sound of the Civil Rights Movement
Motown was the first label to release a posthumous complication of King’s major speeches
As mentioned in the comments already, there are and have been multiple stations dedicated to stand-up comedy bits...
Audacy still has on on HD in Denver that used to be on a translator that at its peak had a three+ share.
Funny that they haven't updated the frequency in their listing. The 103.1 translator is now running "Front Range Country" from 107.5 KQKS-HD2. "Comedy 99.5" is currently only on the KQMT HD channel, as you pointed out.
I suspect the only reason KQMT-HD2 is still there is because Audacy has leased out KQMT-HD3 to a Christian network out of Colorado Springs, which is using it to feed yet another translator.
This brings up a good question of whether early comedy released on a record album is “fair game” for radio airplay. In the past, stations played comedy cuts quite liberally, particularly if they were serviced on the album by the label.
With changing enforcement of artist rights, this liberty may not prevail.
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The way I've had it explained to me by publishing lawyers, the answer is yes.
Jeff Foxworthy had a deal with Warner Brothers. They'd combine his comedy with music and make hit songs out of them. He has one of the most-played country Christmas songs called the Redneck 12 Days of Christmas.
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