Industries and institutional factors have had a tremendous impact on radio ever since its inception as a form of mass entertainment. The larger radio network companies and record companies largely have the final say on what goes into radio programming, and (perhaps more importantly) what does not. With this position, they can enforce what can and cannot go on the radio, leaving most of the radio controlled by some higher entity than the station itself. Individual stations are subject to the final rule of industries and institutional factors.
This can be seen in the practice of payola. Payola is the term used when a record label hires an outside promoter to get their music played on radio stations, and the promoter does this by paying stations "fees" for them to play the label's songs. Though not technically legal, this is the perfect example of a record company exerting force to influence radio programming. Payola ensures that the record label's major bands get played, leaving no room for smaller artists on smaller labels to get radio play. The radio-listening public only hears what the label wants them to hear.
Here's a link to a song about the practice of payola by They Might Be Giants. It's sung from the perspective of an independent artist who paid a DJ to play his song so he could become popular.
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