Payola-as-you-go radio

PAYOLA-AS-YOU-GO RADIO
[SOURCE: Los Angeles Times, AUTHOR: Editorial Staff]
[Commentary] 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. Ultimately, the best weapon against payola is new technology. A band might not be able to hit Britney Spears' sales figures without radio airplay, but it can promote and distribute its music cheaply and easily through the Internet. At the same time, radio programmers have lost their stranglehold on the nation's musical tastes. Hip television shows and advertisers, satellite radio, Internet broadcasters and online music services have all emerged as alternative sources of music, and MP3 players let people take their music collections with them wherever they go. Sure, the new outlets for music could attract payola-like abuses, but their ranks are so large and growing that there's no way to buy off all of them. And they're already having their effect, as seen in the dwindling market share for the artists who hog the airwaves. If commercial stations insist on following the money, instead of the shifting tastes of music fans, they'll lose their audience. That's the punishment they deserve; it's up to music fans to mete it out.
http://www.latimes.com/news/printedition/opinion/la-ed-payola21apr21,1,6...
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