PBS documentary shows how pop music is fizzling out

It’s rather fitting that one night after the coronation of the new “American Idol,” “Frontline” (8 p.m., PBS) airs “The Way the Music Died.” This hourlong report chronicles the decline of the recording industry, and the cultural and technological shifts and business developments that have marginalized popular music.

“Died” follows the music industry from its lucrative heyday in the 1970s to the mergers, bankruptcies and layoffs that rocked the business in 2004.

Is today’s music less meaningful because artists have less to say, or because the business won’t let them say it? “Frontline” producer Michael Kirk argues that “pressures to perform financially have affected the ability of many pop musicians to make the art they want.”

Others contend that the consolidation of radio has left musicians with a pathetic number of outlets on which individual disk jockeys can help listeners discover new and important music. Over the past decade, a handful of corporations have devoured the vast majority of stations. “Thousands of radio stations changed hands (in) multibillion dollar mergers,” Los Angeles Times reporter Jeff Leeds tells “Frontline.” “A company that once owned three dozen stations could suddenly own a thousand.” Now huge corporations determine their stations’ playlists. Some play only 14 different songs per week, leaving no room for variety or exploration. And, even more ominously, this concentration has resulted in blatant political blacklisting of controversial acts, as in the case of Dixie Chicks.

Tonight’s other highlights

Squabbling movie stars fake a romance for film publicity in the 2001 comedy “America’s Sweethearts” (7 p.m., Fox), starring Julia Roberts, John Cusack, Catherine Zeta-Jones and Billy Crystal. Co-written and produced by Crystal.

A juror on a murder trial dies suddenly on “CSI” (8 p.m., CBS).

Dave Foley is host of “Celebrity Poker Showdown” (8 p.m., Bravo). It’s now in its second season.

A paparazzo vanishes on “Without a Trace” (8 p.m., CBS).