Crapola, payola, whatever you want to call it.
Published 7.27.2005 by ~mattg
One of my fellow Pittsburghers found this Post-Gazette article on the local connection to the recent Sony/BMG “payola” scandal.
Unfortunately, this does not shock me. The quality of radio programming has declined in the recent years, and there is no doubt that increased pay-for-play “incentives” have something to do with it. But let’s not overlook a side issue here.
Artists are constantly complaining that they aren’t paid enough for their music, and the record companies blame piracy for not paying their artists. “Pirates” site high album prices as a justification for their action. If Sony is going to pay $10 million to make this investigation go away, it stands to reason that a ton of money is being thown at DJs and station programmers to get their artists on the air. Why not take that money and invest it in your artists and reduce album prices? Instead, you rape incoming artists with absurd contracts and pay DJs to play their songs so that you can sell albums at $20 bucks a pop and complain that piracy is driving up album prices.
Now, I do not agree with piracy in any form (except maybe the “Argh where’s my parrot” kind, just because Johnny Depp made that kind cool). If you are hording a Library of Congress size collection of downloaded music, do me a favor and either delete it or do something dumb like share it for everyone in the world. There is no need for that. But there is also no need to pay $20 for 12 songs, one of which I like. Similarly, $1 a song is also a bit pricey, considering that my infatuation with that song will last about 2 weeks, then I won’t ever want to hear it again. Radio (and satellite radio) are an excellent way to keep things new and fresh without unloading a ton of money. But radio needs to start playing music that is popular to its audience, not music pushed by Sony like a dealer pushes crack.
Oh yea, and as a side note, watch for Keith Richards to play Jack Sparrow’s (I’m sorry, Captain Jack Sparrow) father in the next Pirates of the Caribbean film.
Filed under Personal
Payola and the Institutional Suicide of Big Money
Ol’ Froth posts on an issue that goes way back with your Proprietor. Apparently, Elliott Spitzer is going after the scum who’ve done their best to ruin music for all of us. Follow the link….