My usual reaction to hearing repeated plays of Nickleback or Ashlee Simpson on my local but piped in corporate radio station is: Am I in a North Korean concentration camp? Now I understand why radio stations incessantly play horrible music. Music companies pay radio stations to play songs. That's fraud, passing off advertising as regular programming. In most instances, I'd prefer advertisements to the songs that do get played. It turns out that looks only go so far; Sony bribed station directors and disc jockeys to play JLo, Britney, Jessica Simpson, and other superstars of the slutpop genre. Even anti-corporate phonies Good Charlotte and Audioslave are embroiled in the scandal.
Sony agreed to pay a fine of $10 million to the state of New York. What about the DJs? Alan Freed--the man credited with popularizing the phrase "rock n roll"--got fired and died a broken man after investigations revealed his involvement in payola. This time the briber got fined but not the bribed. As penance, perhaps offending DJs should sit in jail and reflect on their crimes while listening to a loop of Tom Petty's Last DJ, Wilco's The Late Greats, Rush's Spirit of the Radio, and AC/DC's It's a Long Way To the Top. No, that would be too kind. Less rehabilitative but better punishment would be non-stop blasting of the garbage they got paid to impose on the rest of us.
The Kinks " Around the Dial"
In many circles, I know I wouldn't be considered "current" with regards to music as I am stuck in my rock n' roll ways, but what I hear coming out of my radio seems to be a lot of junk noise.
They don't make em' like they used to.
No wonder they have to pay radio stations to play this stuff.
Ok, I never understood the whole slutpop thing. I mean, so what if the chick singing is hot or not? You can't see them!
It reminds me of that scene from Radio Days: "But you can't dance on-a-da Radio!" "I know, 'cause they can't see you! I know!"
Payola has been going on for years. It really never stopped since Alan Freed. It has been known as "Independant Promotion". and listed as such in the books and records of the music companies. This is the process where they pay an independant person or firm to go and get their music on the radio. How the independant did that was their business. But everyone knew what was going on. Music cos didn't like the system but the big Artists weren't willing to challenge it with their latest release. As an old music co employee I remember It was pay or no play. It effected all artists - no exceptions. Less today but more in the past, if you play anything enough on the radio it will sell.
You are right it is advertising being passed off as programing.
