ord companies simply give a copy of the record perhaps along with a hundred dollar bill, laptops, digital cameras, ticket to a famous game, walkman, a cruise ticket, and many other expensive pleasures. However record companies were banned from offering valuables to radio stations in 1960. It was U.S federal law that made it a crime with a $10 000 fine and a year in prison. The more times the radio plays a song, the more the audience is going to have to listen to it. The number of times a song is played can influence the popularity of the song. Payola is like food manufacturers paying for shelves in grocery stores. 
Eliot Spitzer says “Radio stations are airing music because they are paid to do so in a way that has not been disclosed to the public,” The attorney general says they found evidence such as demanded documents, emails, and other materials from companies such as Warner Music, Universal Music Group and EMI that Sony BMG paid for vacation packages for radio programmers. Sony hired independent promoters to pay radio’s to get more airplay for records.The $10 million will be distributed to non-profit groups supporting music education.
INTERESTING LINKS:
BIG RADIO SETTLES PAYOLA:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/03/05/AR2007030501286.html
SONY BMG :
http://www.nytimes.com/2005/07/25/business/25cnd-music.html
SONY SETTLES PAYOLA INVESTIGATION: http://www.oag.state.ny.us/press/2005/jul/jul25a_05.html
Payola-The Dirty Industry Practice-That's Ruining Hip Hop:
http://p099.ezboard.com/fpoliticalpalacefrm57.showMessage?topicID=348.topic
LA Music Critic Says Public Not Payola Rules Airwaves:
http://p099.ezboard.com/fpoliticalpalacefrm57.showMessage?topicID=359.topic
A Response to Robert Hilburn's LA Times Article on Payola:
http://p099.ezboard.com/fpoliticalpalacefrm57.showMessage?topicID=364.topic
QUESTIONS TO CONSIDER
-> Did Mariah Carey’s “Touch My Body” come on top because of payola?
-> Do you think payola is right of wrong?
-> If you owned a record company, would you pay radio stations to play your songs?
-> Do you think the reason some songs get their popularity is because of payola?
22 comments:
1. Did Mariah Carey’s “Touch My Body” come on top because of payola?
First off i've never heard that song before so i don't know how popular it is.
Second thing it is likely that this "Payola" buisness took place because i don't think many people listen to her anymore...or for that matter did...?
2.Do you think payola is right of wrong?
I think that "Payola" is wrong because your basicaly paying to win a competition....whic is in other words.."Rigged".
3.If you owned a record company, would you pay radio stations to play your songs?
If i owned a record company i wouldn't pay to have my songs played on the radio.
4.Do you think the reason some songs get their popularity is because of payola?
Most songs get popular because people call in the song they want to hear not because of "Payola" but i would think there have been more cases of "Payola" than discovered.
I totally think that Mariah Carey;s song becasme number one becasue of the payola, just like J-Lo's. "Please be advised that in this week's Jennifer Lopez Top 40 Spin Increase of 236 we bought 63 spins at a cost of $3,600." I think its stupid how you have to pay people to like your music. If people don't want to hear it they shouldn't be forced to.
Another suspicious thing I found was about Janet Jackson's song "Feedback". "Feedback," which moves from #53 to #19, is the Hot 100's Sales Gainer. It's now her highest-charting single since 2001's " I think a payola was highly involved.
Mariah Carey's song "Touch My Body" isnt a very good song at all, WHAT IS THE MESSAGE? Touching Mariah Carey's body? good luck with that one..... and WHO IS THE AUDIENCE? everyone! if radio is being payed to play that song over and over again in the car and in a house hold then everyone can hear it. It has a terrible message and song like that should not be played over and over again, never mind once. Would you like it if your little sister would walk around singing "TOUCH MY BODY!" and acting like Mariah? no i dont believe so. Its just sad because Mariah Carey has an incredible voice. It is sad that she doesnt have the good, meaningful songs to go with it.
In my opinion, I don't think payola was the entire reason for mariah carey's "touch my body" becoming on top of the charts. I'm sure it had something to do with her success, but it's not only about the money, people have to like the song to want to purchase a cd or download it on itunes or to listen to it on th radio. But, I don't think it's a great song either so payola probably was involved.
And if i think payola is right or wrong, I'm on both sides. If an artist is good enough they shouldn't need to pay record companies to play their songs, if people like their songs, they will play them. But I guess, for some artists, that might be the only way to get their songs played a lot on the radio so I don't really know if i think it is right or wrong. I just know that if I was a music artist I would want people to play my songs because they like them, not because they're getting paid big bucks to play them.
And I definitely think that some artists have become famous because of payola.
haha well first off, i hate this song and it actually makes me cringe. =\
and one thing i noticed this song would come on like, right after one ended.
MULTIPLE TIMES
id listen to the song in the car, then i'd change it to a similar station.. and the song would just start
that is not just a coincidence
I have never heard the song touch my body but i do think payola is wrong. It is bribing a radio station to play your music more than other artists. However I wouldn't say she doesn't deserve credit she is a good singer and after all Elvis and the Beatles didn't have to compete with limewire.
I sort of disagree with Kelsey's comment: "But I guess, for some artists that might be the only way to get their songs played a lot on the radio" If an artist was really good and people liked them, then they would just call in and the song would get played on the radio. And if a lot of ppl liked the song, then a lot of ppl would call in and it would get played a lot. If yr a new artist, you should create a good song that ppl would like and then it will automatically get played on the radio a lot. Paying ppl to make yr music popular and then comparing the popularity of your song to legends who wrked hard to have on top is totally wrong. It's deceiving the public.
Plus, I kinda disagree with the fact that EVERYONE will buy music for the sole reason that they like it. There are a lot of ppl out there who will be influenced to buy music because it is so popular and it's topping the charts.
I agree with Javariyya. There really are people that will buy songs just because they hear it a lot and think it's popular. It's unfair. Mariah Carey is nowhere near as good as Elvis if her record company buys her air time. If a song gets more air time more people will know about the song and buy it. Some people will also think that the song is popular and buy it anyways even if they don't like it.
Payola is a very unfair way for artists to get quick hits. Basically, if a record company has enough money then they'll just pay for the songs to become popular. New singers won't have a chance of having their songs played unless they pay as well. I'm definitely against payola. The fine is too low, especially for big record companies. It's nothing for them. I wasn't even aware payola existed before, but I now realize what a problem it is.
yeah javarriya i actually didn't mean it like that, i completely agree with what you said and it was what i was trying to say, like if an artist is really good then people will just call in to hear them. And if people like the song it will get played more often.
But mariah carey's song "touch my body", so far everyone has said that they do not like the song and I don't like it either, so why is it played on the radio so often?
well thats a good point.. there was no competition w2ith limewire/ares and other music programs before, so if these musicians are literally losing millions, then shouldn't they be able to put forth a little bit of money to raise sales? you gotta spend money to make money
http://slate.msn.com/id/2123483/
and this is a really good article that i pretty much support and agree with.. it just sorta is a follow up on my point. really, what is so wrong about payola? it's a dog eat dog world and let it be if it damages other recording artists, its their own faults if they get walked all over.
and pretty much, from all the previous posts it looks like mostly all of us dont like mariah carey's song, and neither does anyone else..
"Fast forward to today. Mariah released her latest single, “Touch My Body” to radio on February 12th. It was not well received by most listeners, consistently finishing amongst the bottom quarter of the songs rated by pop music listeners at www.ratethemusic.com as published by Mediabase"
http://jcole77.wordpress.com/2008/03/26/payola-chart-rigging-or-both-you-be-the-judge/
moral of the story is.. payola will only take you so far..it will only help you if you're already doing well, for instance
if it's a song like.. umbrella which was super popular back in the summer of '07.. if that song wwas involved with payola, then the sales would be even better and it would help[ them
but if the song isnt really liked by anyone, payola wont really change much, at the end of the day the song still sucks
and lets not forget, a song we hate usually just ends up in changing the station
Well, after listening to this song, I have come to the conclusion that it's a pretty bad song, then again, I hate pop music, but, the song doesn't even have a good beat, or lyrics.
On top of that, Mariah used to be married to Tommy Motolla, an executive for Columbia Records, how much money and power did he abuse to help his wife's career?
While I haven't seen anything to prove her guilty yet, I strongly believe she is, and I find it very disrespectful that she's being compared to Elvis and the Beatles.
Tajna, I understand when you say, “you gotta spend money to make money”, however that does not make payola right.
Consider this: We both apply to the same part-time job. You have a little bit more experience than I do, however my father offers the company $500 if they hire me. In the end, I am offered the job and you are turned down. How would that make you feel?
Whether you like the song or not is irrelevant.
Payola ultimately prevents new upcoming artists with great talent from rising to the top. With payola existent, artists like Mariah Carrey can literally “afford” to keep themselves popular.
Of course Mariah has had more number one hit singles than Elvis, she paid her way to the top. I’m sure payola didn’t even exist when innocent Elvis was in the business. He played the game fairly. Therefore, this whole “Mariah Carrey being number one” business is unreasonable and deceiving.
David brought up a very good point. Mariah was married to an executive for Columbia Records. Unfortunately in today’s society..its all about who you know.
Woah, Tanja's post is harsh! How can it be an artist's fault if they get "walked on". They never had a chance in the first place because payola is causing larger artists' songs to always be played. New artists usually don't start off with much money, so they can't spend money to get money. Payola destroys a lot of artists careers, so it should be treated more seriously.
Lauren makes a good comparison. Money seems to win over skills in the world. That's really sad in my opinion. Tanja also stated that payola only helps songs that are doing well. I disagree with this. If bad songs are being played because of payola people will think that the songs are good because they're played a lot. They think that other people call in to tell them to play it which makes the song seem popular when it's not.
I totally agree with EVERYTHING that Lauren said. "Payola ultimately prevents new upcoming artists with great talent from rising to the top." What would our world be like if the rich ppl were the ONLY ones who could get opportunities and be successful.
Also, like Brandon said: "The fine is too low, especially for big record companies. It's nothing for them." So what needs to be done is that there need to be harsher penalties for the record compnaies, artists and even the radio stations that accept the $. using payola to get rich quick. Right now that's the only thing I can think of that might actually stop payola.
Until then, ppl are gunna continue to use payola-illegal or not. Money will BUY you fame it seems. So instead of only complaining about payola, I think ppl in the public should really STOP comparing ppl like Mariah Carey to ppl who DESRERVED to be successful.
Like David said, It's totally disrespectful. And as Mariah Carey herslf pointed out: "I really can never put myself in the category of people who have not only revolutionised music but also changed the world. That's a completely different era and time... "
Read this for stats on mariah carey's single, etc.
http://www.elvisnews.com/Presentation/Functional/Page/news.aspx?command=show&item=10503
I agree with Brandon and javariyya..the fine is too low. I had never even thought of the punishment but now I realize that it’s just RIDICULOUS!! Money is not an issue to the famous stars who commit these crimes; the penalty should be much harsher. I think some quality time behind bars would set these people straight. However, now that I think of it..celebrities have a tendency to cry their way out of jail.
Unfortunately, there’s no way of stopping payola. Like javariyya said, its gonna happen now matter what. Bottom line: its wrong, its unfair and nothing is being done about it.
I think payola took a huge part in Mariah Carey's "touch my body" I couldn't sing one line of this song but if it was played this often i must have heard it at least once or twice. Mariah Carey lost a little recognition therefore i believe she used "payola" to popularize this song.
I dont think payola is all that wrong, if the record company wants to waste money on trying to give their song some recognition, I say go for it. This is not exactly fair, but with the tons of competition all the artists face, a little "bribe" isnt a big deal.
If i owned a record company, i wouldnt mind paying the radio station to play my songs. If this gives me some recognition, im willing to spend some money, and being the owner of a record company, it wouldnt be all that much
there has to be many songs out there involved with "payola", only a few get recognized abd judged (Touch my body obviously for one. There are some songs on the radio where i just sit there and think "why?" my voice is better than that..shut up briar.
Not saying the songs i dont like are played because of payola, but come on. not saying hinder was recognized because of payola, but by the end of last summer i was just hoping those angels lips would finally shut
Payolas are two sides of a coin; theres a good and a bad. It helps you make money and your popularity rises because its got people talking about the song and the artist.
The bad side is that your basically getting yourself ahead of the game by not playing fairly. You are paying to get popular, which i think is not right. If poeple dont like you then dont make them.
well lauren i get your point completely, but seriously... this sint that big of a problem:S???
sure.. her song comes on average more than other songs, but the other songs are still getting played
and as soon as i hear a sonng just ONCE, i can fall in love with.. but a song i hear REPATEDLY evry hour on a radio station that i genuinely dont like, thn either way im not gonna think twice about buying it/downloading it/listening to it ever by choice.
the point is, the payola works for mariah in some ways, but i think i proved my point in the fact that like, the first 10ish posts are a whole bunch of comments saying things like, "i hate that song" "it gives a wrong message", and even this one "ive never even heard that song"
seriosuly people, what is SO wrong about payola.
if the song is good, it WILL getplayed no matter what, they still get air time and still allows people to hear their music, whether it be a couple of times a day,or every hour.
Janet? Really? She’s been practically banned from radio since 2004. Her peak was solely due to the strong sales of the single.
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