Pay For Play Infiltrates Online Playlists

Just when you thought that the record business couldn't get any sleazier comes this. Record labels are now paying some big dollars to influence online playlists of streaming services.

This is what many in the industry call "Playola" (named after the old payola practice of illegally paying a DJ for airplay on the radio), and is yet another way that an established label, manager, or artist gets a one-up on the indie artist.

Believe it or not, the practice is legal, and even if it weren't it would be difficult to police. It's easy for a label or promotion company to slip $100 (or way more) to a blogger with a hot playlist for "consulting" without anyone being none the wiser.

While a small blogger might only cost that much, owners of popular playlists with hundreds of thousands of followers cost considerably more, with a six week campaign going anywhere from $2,000 to $10,000, according to an article in Billboard.

This is one area of the music business that most of us thought was still pristine and untouched by big money, but I guess that's too idealistic a vision.

That said, Spotify is taking a stand and forbidding its playlist owners from taking money from outside sources, which is an excellent reason to keep supporting it.

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Music Matters - A Movie About The Payola Law

Payola, which occurs when a record label pays to have a song played on the radio, was outlawed in 1960, but a new documentary called Music Matters tries to make a point that the law was created for the wrong reason.

The film states that it was actually a racist backlash against Elvis Presley, since he was singing a white version of songs made by black artists. The film also states that if payola was still in force, market forces would self-regulate the industry, so a bad song wouldn't play long on a station no matter how much the label paid since it would hurt the station's ratings.

Whether you agree or not with the premise of the film, it's still worth watching below.

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The Music 3.0 Week In Review

Here are the posts from the last week of Music 3.0: The Blog Behind The Book.

Record Labels Claim They Lost $75 Trillion To Piracy.
When asked to estimate the damages they incurred in their suit against file-sharing service Limewire, the major record labels claimed they lost $400 billion (with a "B") on the low end, to $75 trillion (with a "T") on the high end. Read More...

10 Great Music Marketing Ideas
Here are 10 music marketing ideas from the Music 3.0 Internet Music guidebook. It’s easier to sell your music if you add extra value to it, so it helps to think outside the box when it comes to distributing your music. Read More...


Amazon Is First To The Digital Locker. So What?
Today Amazon announced a digital music locker service that enables users to upload and stream their music on multiple devices...  Read More...


The Best Time To Tweet
If you're using social media for promotion, then the timing of when you do it is critical. Read More...



How "Friday" Proves That Payola Still Exists
What's confusing is that the 60 million views have turned into just 12 radio plays so far. Read More...

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You should follow me on Twitter for daily news and updates on production and the music business.

Check out my Big Picture blog for discussion on common music, engineering and production tips and tricks.

How "Friday" Proves Payola Still Exists

By now everyone has either heard or heard about the runaway viral YouTube hit "Friday" by 13 year old Rebecca Black. You can argue all you want about the merits of the song, but one thing's for sure, with more than 60 million views so far, someone out there loves it. So what's confusing is that the 60 million views have turned into just 12 radio plays so far. Yes, you read that right - just 12 radio plays.

But listen to what one radio programmer told Digital Music News:
"It's not going to get played unless a major label promotion department brings all of its resources to get it played, otherwise things just don't get added. Nothing's getting incented or enticed - it's the reason why there aren't that many independent songs on the radio right now. It's also the reason why records like 'Friday' and 'Bedroom Intruder' don't get radio play."

Excuse me, but doesn't that sound like the programmer is admitting to payola? They won't play a song unless it's incented or enticed? There are strong laws against payola (where a label pays a station or programming for them to play a song) and the music and radio business has seen at least two major payola scandals that nearly brought them to their knees.

Forget about the payola for a second. Just how out of touch is radio if they have this huge consumer demand yet they ignore it? If there was ever an example that radio and the major labels are about nothing but money, this is it.

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Help support this blog. Any purchases made through our Amazon links help support this website with no cost to you.

You should follow me on Twitter for daily news and updates on production and the music business.

Check out my Big Picture blog for discussion on common music, engineering and production tips and tricks.

A New Low For The Music Business?

Here's an idea that's either a new low for the music business, a brilliant marketing idea, or just more of the same. In fact, a new low is exactly the campaign that the UK duo Reclusive Barclay Brothers are running as they pay 100 randomly picked fans $35 each to listen to their song.

They say that their thinking is that payola has been a big piece of the music business promotion for most of the industry's history, so paying you to listen is just a modern extension of the practice.

Personally, I think it's great out-of-the-box thinking and a great promotion. They're basically getting you to sign up for their mailing list in the hopes of winning some money, you're hearing their song, they're getting some much needed publicity, and their clever video explains the whole thing. It's just a repulsive enough idea to actually work, providing that the song is good.

To me it's a good, not great song, but the production and engineering is great. Regardless, the campaign gets you there, and the song is well made enough to make you want to hear more. Check out the newlowformusic.com site and listen for yourself, and maybe win $35.

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Follow me on Twitter for daily news and updates on production and the music business.

Check out my Big Picture blog for discussion on common music, engineering and production tips and tricks.