FOLLOWING THE LEAD OF New York Atty. Gen. Eliot Spitzer, the Federal Communications Commission launched a formal probe this week into allegations that four major radio corporations secretly took cash or gifts to spin discs. The investigation begs the question: Why do regulators still care about payola?
Sure, there's the small matter of the law banning it. And the practice is unfair. The better question, though, is whether the technological and competitive landscape has changed enough to make payola ineffective or, better yet, self-defeating.
The music industry has been dogged for more than a century by evidence that music publishers, record companies or promoters have bought exposure for songs. The outcry about payola prompted Congress to pass a law requiring radio stations to disclose payments or gifts they received in exchange for airplay. The FCC has a similar rule.
The main victims of payola are the artists, songwriters and labels that can't afford to buy their way into the system. Getting a song played on commercial radio stations is the easiest route to having a major hit; just look at the overlap between the songs getting the most radio airplay and the CD, download or ring-tone sales charts. The rapid corporate consolidation of radio, meanwhile, has made it even harder to get on playlists.
