So you thought the record industry business practice known as Payola has been been long gone since the 1959 U.S. Congressional bribery and corruption investigation nabbed legendary Cleveland disc jockey Alan Freed for accepting cash and other ‘considerations’ in exchange for the specific records of their source ‘donors’ being given radio airplay?
Guess again. According to an investigation by Billboard magazine, and an article published in the British newspaper, The Independent, $Payola appears to be not only alive and well – but probably never went away.
In the days of the Freed investigation, DJ’s had tremendous influence on record company sales and profits, because they personally hand-picked what discs would be played on their own shows.
From day one, record companies and their labels have always viewed DJ’s – and later primarily radio stations themselves – as essential mediums for free exposure of their product to listeners predisposed to buying music.
And as I’m sure you know, that DJ self-selection arrangement was permanently abandoned in the era of tighter, more controlled radio playlists, which began in the mid-60’s and continues to this day.
[Note] From many years in Top 40 radio, which began in the late sixties, my opinion is that generally, it existed – just in more cleverly executed, clandestine forms.
For more consistency and uniformity in the stations’ music presentations, current playlists have, in the ensuing decades, been fashioned by management executives of the stations – or now more commonly by station programming advisors/consultants, some of whom may have 100+ stations on their client roster – giving both of the above tremendous clout in the eyes of record companies.
[Note] This almost exclusively applies to radio stations who play contemporary and new record releases – as opposed to the ones with Oldies or Classic Hits formats.
Add into the mix the popularity (i.e. influence) bestowed upon club dee-jays, and well, you get the picture.
The latest incarnation of $payola has morphed into the digital music era, as discovered by the Billboard investigation.
Article on Payola
Source: Independent.co.uk
Oh, btw, for a personal ‘donation’ to HouseoftheHits.com, of say $20, I will include a ’shoutout’ to you and five of your friends in my next article post … sshhhh. JK!
