Pay for play is standard business. Was then, is now. As I said now the indie money goes to the corporate office and the bottom line now.
Don't confuse rock promotion with CHR promotion. Rock indies got paid a flat fee for six weeks to get album play. They passed minimal amounts of that money to stations.
Thats why FM rock programmers of the 70s and 80s aren't living in Hawaii! The money was just not there in the amounts it was chanelled into CHR promotion.
In CHR promotion the indies gets paid
per song added. No play, no pay. But the money was big. Read
Hit Men and
Appetite for Self Destruction. Hit Men explains the old way of CHR promotion ( 80s and 90s ). Appetite for Self Destruction tells how it worked in the 2000s and how labels could not adapot to the internet and file sharing and so forth. Both books cover pay for play pretty well.
To say PDs in FM Rock or CHR never had monies channeled them through indies is pure fallacy. Some PDs were called " record whores " and were careless in their dealings.
In the old days, owners looked the other way when PDs took the indie money and other goodies ( everything from clothes to trips to furniture ). Some of the PDs channeled the indie moeny into prizes and such. Some bought station T-shirts, bumperstickers, and things like that.
The labels spent millions on indie promotion. It's documented and to most seasoned vets common knowledge. Like I said,
payola (
record company money directly to radio ) is illegal.
Independent promotion (
record company money to indie to radio stations ) is legal. It's how business is done. Some legislators try to change this sytem periodically but are unsuccessful.
In the old days, the owners looked the other way. The indie money to the PDs kept their PDs happy and the owners didn't have to pay huge salaries. Ah the good old days. 8)
There were lots of PDs working in small markets earning 20K a year and driving Corvettes.
Now the indie money goes to the owners, and the small market PD is earning 20K to run 10 stations and play what the corprate programmer tells him to play. The owner is driving the Corvette now.
Nothing new about any of this.
What is new is how music is sold ( on computer files ) instead of on discs at record stores. For the most part radio is still the primary advertising tool ( ie airplay ) for record companies.
