IHeart Enters into Sponsorship ID Consent Decree

On July 9, 2026, the FCC announced an Order adopting a consent decree with IHeartMedia, Inc. concluding its investigation of whether IHeart violated the FCC’s sponsorship ID laws in connection with procuring musical artists to perform at company events.

Despite IHeart’s position that it did not trade radio airplay in exchange for artist performances at Company events and therefore had no obligation to make on-air disclosure under the FCC’s payola policies, the Company did agree to augment its existing payola practices and policies.  Their agreement to do so halted the investigation, subject to compliance with a slew of compliance actions agreed to in the consent decree.

Those compliance actions include, among several others, documented disclosure of anti-payola policies to music artists, a hotline for company employees to report potential violations (with accompanying tracking log), whistleblower protection for employees, and agreeing to discipline employees in the event of any future forfeiture order.

For stations or station groups that use musical artists in connection with company events or concerts, a close reading of the consent decree is a good idea. There may be actions that could augment your payola policies or add ‘insurance’ against non-compliance with future potential complaints or investigations.