Archived Edition of Chromatic Musings

Hit Men

This morning, I completed Hit Men (by Fredric Dannen) on my way to work. This particular book is frequently referenced as an exposé on how the music industry really works.

This book picks up at the end of the payola scandals in the late fifties through to the end of the eighties. While this does make the information rather dated, it's still a good look on how we got where we are. Basically, the point is made that radio time has just about always been bought and paid for. Initially, it started with the labels paying the DJs. Then, it went to the labels paying the program managers of the station. When the attention/heat got too much, it changed to the labels paying "independents", who turned right around and paid the program managers (pocketing a small fee along the way). Finally, after a report from NBC news, the labels gave the money to the artists who then hired the independents who then paid the PMs -- but now, it's a recoupable expense, so the labels get all the benefits and none of the cost or exposure.

The book does make a pretty damning case that the payola laws are a sham, at best. No one follows them, no one wants to prosecute them. Organized crime seems to have more than a small hand in the system. And artists don't want to be the ones to try and go against them, either.

"When we first went off indies, Maurice White came into my office. He made the rounds and found out this [boycott] comes from Asher [who is speaking in this quote]. We had a long conversation. He was saying he had to have independents. I said, 'We're just not doing it, Maurice.' I said, 'Maurice, you're the greatest artist in the world, you're such a huge talent. Isn't it demeaning to you have some guy with an Italian name has to get paid off to get your records played on the air? You Know'

"He said, 'Look, man, I only have one career. So don't make me your crusade.' "

When talking about the independents themselves, there's an interesting story about Pink Floyd and LA. During the tour for The Wall, Pink Floyd had one of their few hits with Another Brick In The Wall. At the time, CBS records decided to see what would happen if they didn't pay the independents to promote in LA. Well, what happened is that no radio station in LA played the song. Not one -- not even when Floyd was in town, playing a huge venue for two nights and selling it out. But as soon as CBS cut some checks to the indies, the song shot up to number one record played within the week.

Posted by Casper at July 15, 2004 02:48 PM