StudentShare
Contact Us
Sign In / Sign Up for FREE
Search
Go to advanced search...
Free

Payola: The Scandalous Roots - Essay Example

Cite this document
Summary
This essay "Payola: The Scandalous Roots" discusses Payola that still exists and probably will as long as there is a profit in getting a song on the radio. In 1998, Limp Bizkit paid an Oregon station $5,000 to play its record 100 times in a 5-week period (Cartwright)…
Download full paper File format: .doc, available for editing
GRAB THE BEST PAPER96.6% of users find it useful
Payola: The Scandalous Roots
Read Text Preview

Extract of sample "Payola: The Scandalous Roots"

Simply uttering the word 'payola' can conjure up images of shadowy figures with a fist full of payoffs greasing the palms of corruption and greed. The word payola originated by combining the word payoff with Rock-ola, the jukebox that made rock and roll famous. It is portrayed as a period in rock history that was dominated by high rolling record companies and greedy disc jockeys willing to sell air-time to the highest bidder. The money was certainly a part of it, but payola did not originate with rock and roll. Rock and roll merely became a target for racist attitudes, parental fear of adolescent rebellion, and a major music agency obsessed with controlling the recording industry. 

Payola goes back to the 1920s and the days of vaudeville and continued through the 1940s with the big band era (Hornberger). Paying a station to play a record was legal as long as the disc jockey notified the listeners that the airtime was purchased. This was often overlooked for decades until the era of rock and roll. Up until 1950, the American Society of Composers Authors and Publishers (ASCAP) controlled nearly all the music in the dancehalls, hotels, radio, and theaters. Their offices were in New York City and the directors had total control of the content. They would not allow membership for 'black' or 'hillbilly' artists (DiMaggio 608). Several networks split from ASCAP due to their rates and racist policies and in 1939 they formed Broadcast Music Inc. (BMI).

After World War II BMI set about signing the black and hillbilly artists that ASCAP had refused to work with. This core of musical outcasts would form the genesis of rock and roll. Teenagers were hungry for rock and the 45-RPM record made it accessible. By the early 1950s major BMI labels were turning out 100 new singles a week (Cartwright). DJs, suffocated with new recordings, would be paid by the record companies to promote a record. This was nothing new or unusual in the business. However, BMI was growing larger and politically correct ASCAP was losing market share. ASCAP despised the people that played rock and asked Congress to investigate and enforce the rule on public notification of purchased airtime. Parental fear of rock and roll and the undercurrent of national racism made rock an easy target for Congress.

This led to a sold-out concert, wider coverage, and launched their national success. The payola scandal of the 50s was little more than business as usual. It was the racist attitudes of ASCAP and the fear of radical teen rebellion that brought the issue before the public.

Read More
Cite this document
  • APA
  • MLA
  • CHICAGO
(“Payola Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words”, n.d.)
Payola Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words. Retrieved from https://studentshare.org/miscellaneous/1508229-payola
(Payola Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 Words)
Payola Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 Words. https://studentshare.org/miscellaneous/1508229-payola.
“Payola Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 Words”, n.d. https://studentshare.org/miscellaneous/1508229-payola.
  • Cited: 0 times

CHECK THESE SAMPLES OF Payola: The Scandalous Roots

Corporate Financial Scandals

Jeffrey Skilling who was the CEO of Enron at that time was found scandalous in terms of hiding financial losses of the trading market and other aspects of the company by mark to market accounting.... Everything about Enron seemed larger than life.... From its glittering Houston head quarter reaching to the sky to its spectacular downfall....
11 Pages (2750 words) Research Paper

American Accounting Scandals

Running Head: American Accounting Scandals American Accounting Scandals American Accounting Scandals Introduction In the aftermath of the financial recession that rocked United States and the entire world, policymakers, stakeholders, experts and other observers are raising their fingers on various events, policies, and happenings that led the country to this disastrous recession....
10 Pages (2500 words) Essay

Domestic Lies and Scandals

This essay "Domestic Lies and Scandals" explored the human personality.... Maslow constructed what can be considered the most appreciable, the Hierarchy of Needs.... Considering our basic instinct to respond to our needs, people will usually long for love, sex and belongingness.... ... ... ... This human instinct is presented in the two famous stories of American authors....
5 Pages (1250 words) Essay

Organisational Responses to Responsible Business Drivers

This paper "Organisational Responses to Responsible Business Drivers" focuses on the fact that it has been noticed that many business organisations have been striving to adopt corporate sustainability despite the fact that it was initially branded as an enemy of business growth and profitability....
9 Pages (2250 words) Essay

An Official Definition of Corporate Social Responsibility

This paper "An Official Definition of Corporate Social Responsibility" focuses on the fact that there are some attempts at establishing an official definition of Corporate Social Responsibility.... The WBC for Sustainable Development states that "CSR is the continuing commitment by business to behave ethically....
19 Pages (4750 words) Research Paper

Perception of Accountants Today regarding Scandals and Ethics

Accountant responsibilities include examination of financial scenario's prevailing in the company and market.... Balancing the statements, examining cash flows and utilizing techniques and tactics for a.... ... ... The paper 'Perception of Accountants Today regarding Scandals and Ethics' is a thrilling example of a finance & accounting literature review....
7 Pages (1750 words) Literature review

Corporate Governance: Failure, Scandals, and Improvements

.... ... ...
11 Pages (2750 words) Essay

The Trojan Horse Defense

Trojan attacks are a threat inflicted by the untrustworthy or scandalous behavior of computer users taking advantage of the prevalent use of computer networks.... This report "The Trojan Horse Defense" sheds some light on an online-based business that utilizes the Internet for both business to the customer and business to customer transactions; however, Trojan attacks pose an enormous challenge to it....
15 Pages (3750 words) Report
sponsored ads
We use cookies to create the best experience for you. Keep on browsing if you are OK with that, or find out how to manage cookies.
Contact Us