So, do you know where the $18-$25 you pay to buy a CD is going? If you haven’t been keeping up with the fight against payola, well, now you do. Sony has fessed up, and admits that they bribed several radio stations and their employees to add their bubblegum-pop crap that no one would otherwise listen to to their playlists. And damn, how they bribed:
In other instances, program directors were offered and/or received electronic goods such as flat-screen TVs, entertainment systems, laptop computers, PlayStation 2 consoles and games, and portable CD players, as well as flights, hotel stays and car service. Radio stations that participated in the payola schemes include WQHT-FM in New York (Hot 97); WWPR-FM in New York (Power 105); KHTS-FM in San Diego (Channel 933); WRHT-FM in Greenville, North Carolina; WFLY-FM in Albany, New York (Fly 92.3), WWHT-FM in Syracuse, New York (Hot 107.9); and WSSP-FM in Milwaukee (The Beat), among others. In response to one such offer, a program director e-mailed the label, saying, “I’m a whore this week, what can I say?“
This is generally why I’m a huge proponent of satellite and other forms of pay radio. Yes, you pay money to subscribe, but that money virtually ensures that such crap doesn’t go on. Generally, the satellite providers use subscription revenue to buy their collections and the rights to them, and reject freebies (even if it’s just a copy of the single) in return for airtime.
This type of behavior just totally confuses the recording industry though, where the pay-for-play concept is ingrained indellibly into their culture. A conversation I had a long while back with a former record company employee went something like:
Former employee: “So they buy everything? And don’t get a play schedule from the record labels? Then how do they know what they should play?”
Me: “Well, generally they take requests over the phone and by e-mail, and engineer their playlists that way.”
FE: “But that’s crazy! That puts control of what’s on the air totally in the hands of the listeners!”
Me: “Uhhh… yeah, that’s… kinda the idea…”
