Peter,
My worry is that the major labels are now only producing music that they KNOW radio will play rather than being able to influence the playlist. Ask any plugger how hard his/her job is.
The tail is wagging the dog!
Basically AOR needs someone on the 'inside' of radio and the major labels could do with the knowledge of someone like Mark Ashton or the 'Evil One' to combine with their global marketing muscle. Alternatively, Mark could look for some gorgeous sixteen year old girl to sign!