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Dirty-South Blues Harp forum: wail on! >
payola and blues airplay
payola and blues airplay
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groyster1
1422 posts
Sep 23, 2011
10:44 AM
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a new member called harmonica brought up a valid point about payola and how it stymied blues airplay on the radio and I responded about John R on WLAC who hated payola and was instrumental in advancing blues awareness-I would like to hear some opinions on this-it was so degrading to blues to have ever called it race records
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Honkin On Bobo
796 posts
Sep 23, 2011
11:21 AM
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Great topic for discussion.
I can't say I'm educated enough to say for a fact whether or not "payola" is the reason that the blues didn't get more airplay. As I understand it, "payola" is the $$$$ paid by producers (read: music labels) to stations/DJs to get their records airplay. To the extent that someone heard blues they liked and thought a wide audience would like, recorded it and went to the stations with $$$$, it would have gotten airplay, wouldn't it? That is, the only color the stations cared about was green.
Maybe I'm splitting hairs here. I realize that the blues artists were dirt poor, but so were a lot of the rock and rollers. I guess my point is that it wasn't the lack of $$$$, but sheer racism in the zeitgeist that kept that music from the public, no? Just my $0.02.
Finally (and not to take the topic in a different direction) the statistics driven, computerized, revolving, corporate "play lists" employed by many of the major stations today, sucks as bad as payola did then. The good news is, nobody has to listen to regular terrestrial radio these days. Satellite, YT, ipod....it's amazing music on radio even exists anymore.
Last Edited by on Sep 23, 2011 1:40 PM
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groyster1
1424 posts
Sep 23, 2011
11:34 AM
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I will be 61 years old 1 month from today so I well remember the blues revolution of the 60s I will mention that the support the blues got across the pond in the UK and germany obviously went a long way
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Honkin On Bobo
798 posts
Sep 23, 2011
12:00 PM
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"I well remember the blues revolution of the 60s I will mention that the support the blues got across the pond in the UK and germany obviously went a long way"
Best Keith Richards quote I heard (who am i kidding, he's got a million of 'em) was in relation to the blues the early Stones were covering. On all the american kids going bonkers over it: "you had it all along, you just WEREN'T listening!"
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waltertore
1504 posts
Sep 23, 2011
12:19 PM
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It still goes on in the entertainment world. An example is - rent a nice size ad in a blues magazine and magically your cd gets a great revue... When I was playing full time in the 70's-early 90's, paying money to get small roots labels airplay/media exposure, was commonplace. Djs, music writers, other than the top names, make little to no money. It is a set up for corruption, or as my New Jersey childhood friends would say "its just a way to do business". It has gotten more sophisticated since the days when no one was watching, and it will probably never die completely. Walter
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Last Edited by on Sep 23, 2011 1:25 PM
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LSC
93 posts
Sep 24, 2011
10:34 AM
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For sure there was racist factor in radio, as most other areas of endevor, during the period mentioned. Remember these were the times when Sammy Davis when he was in Las Vegas couldn't stay in the same hotel where he was headlining.
Regards payola, it still exists in various forms today, though it's usually not in the form of cash. For example, I know of radio personalities in Europe who are given all expenses paid trips to the UK to see label acts. Then there is of course the odious practice of support bands paying headliners for the privilege or being on the same bill.
The blues market these days is so relatively small and those involved in it, even on the business side, being mainly afcionados I doubt there is much hanky panky going on, though I'm sure if someone had the money and wanted to spread it around favors would come their way. Hell, if I ever hit the lottery the rain would come and my river would certainly rise.
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LSC
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