Washington, D.C. -- Hundreds of thousands of U.S. radio listeners voiced a sigh of relief Friday after FCC regulators announced that modern rock stations are no longer allowed to air daily "Mandatory Metallica" song blocks - a practice that's been religiously employed by program directors nationwide since the mid-90s.
"Considering the abhorrent quality and declining value of Metallica's last four releases, it is the FCC's decision that the band's music can no longer be considered 'mandatory' under even the loosest of mainstream radio standards," said FCC spokesperson Fredrick Moore. "Therefore, stations are heretofore disallowed from the daily airing of three or more of the band's songs in a row as part of a 'Muh-Muh-Muh-Mandatory Metallica' segment, as it is typically called."
Mandatory Metallica - the catchy alliterative moniker for three- to six-song radio segments that draw from Metallica's extensive catalog of radio singles - became widespread among modern rock stations when the band's 1991 multi-platinum self-titled album culminated in mainstream success for a band that had previously toiled for over a decade in the underground metal scene.
The FCC's decision to outlaw Mandatory Metallica segments came after more than 680,000 radio listeners signed petitions encouraging the commission to rescind Metallica music's 'mandatory' status.
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