This day in History: Dick Clark Survives the Payola Scandal en 1960

[davideduardo]

"On May 2, 1960, Dick Clark concludes his second day of testimony in the so-called Payola hearings—testimony that both saved and altered the course of his career. If Alan Freed, the disk jockey who gave rock and roll its name, was Payola’s biggest casualty, then Dick Clark was its most famous survivor"

Dick Clark survives the Payola scandal

On May 2, 1960, Dick Clark concludes his second day of testimony in the so-called Payola hearings—testimony that both saved and altered the course of his

www.history.com

Of course, we know that the payola investigations affected Top 40 radio and it appears that they impacted the tone and nature of the music industry for several years until the combination of Motown, The British Invasion and even The Beach Boys reinvigorated the genre and moved us away from novelty sounds like the Twist and the Bristol Stomp and MOR sounding songs like Bobby Vinton's remake of Blue Velvet.

 

[landtuna]

1960 - my junior year in high school - and the music sucked! Girl groups, all sounding alike, popping up all over the place.

 

[Kelly A]

When I was new to the biz, I remember having to sign a payola/plugola form, where I agreed to be canned if found to be taking either. Wasn't until probably fifteen years later, the Music Director at a different station was fired immediately for taking payola from a 'Record Pig'. He was re-hired several years later by the same station as the Production Director. I'd always thought that taking payola was a career death sentence. Guess not!

 

[Mikey Radio]

I've worked at a few stations that have probably skirted the Payola rule somewhat precariously. In one instance, I was at a small market station that was adjacent to a larger market and appeared in the ratings there. Record reps were always calling on the PD and MD to play their stuff as they wanted to report in trade magazines that the artists or music they were pushing were being played in heavy rotation by our station. Our MD played a lot of stuff in exchange for our station getting tons of swag like keychains, sunglasses, bumper stickers, shirts, etc. with our station's logo on them, paid for by the reps. We had JAM and Century 21 jingle packages, one of the better morning show "prep services" and a guy with great pipes to do all our jock intros, drops and positioning stuff, all paid for by record reps. In some cases the songs our station played were absolute crap. The reps and the MD I'm sure knew it and at times the jocks were embarrassed to play some of the stuff, but in the eyes of management, it got stuff for our station they could've never afforded on their own.

 

[davideduardo]

I've worked at a few stations that have probably skirted the Payola rule somewhat precariously. In one instance, I was at a smaller market station that was adjacent to a larger market and appeared in the ratings there. Record reps were always calling on the PD and MD to play their stuff as they wanted to report in trade magazines that the artists or music they were pushing were being played in heavy rotation by our station. Our MD played a lot of stuff in exchange for our station getting tons of swag like keychains, sunglasses, bumper stickers, shirts, etc. with our station's logo on them, paid for by the reps. We had JAM and Century 21 jingle packages, one of the better morning show "prep services" and an amazing sounding guy with great pipes to do all our jock intros, drops and positioning stuff, all paid for by record reps. In some cases the songs our station played were absolute crap. The reps knew it, the MD knew it and at times the jocks were embarrassed to play the stuff, but in the eyes of management, it got stuff for our station that they could've never afforded on their own.

By the legal definition, that is not payola. To be true payola, a person who is not the owner or partner in a station accepts something of value (a trip, cash, coke, whatever) that does not go through the station administration and which is in exchange for a favor that is not authorized / known about by the owner or manager.

If a station takes things from a record duck, and they are used "officially" by the station such as what you describe or, even, authorized attendance at shows that involve travel and other costs, that is legal. In fact, even tickets for staff to attend a concert or tickets to give to listeners are legitimate promotional activities.

This legitimate giving of favors is no different than how supermarkets deal with end aisle displays, facing inches and heights, etc. A product is given to the market below normal cost or in a "buy 10 cases, get one free" deal. In exchange, the market gives better display locations and facings.

The problem with all of this is that a song that is an obvious hit does not need much promotion. It's the doubtful ones that get extra promotion, and many of those, no matter how much promotion is given them, are just stiffs.

And some record ducks think every station staffer is susceptible to payola. At one station, a promoter started pouring a very long and thick line on my desk! I whammed my hand on the desk, and the magic dust flew in the air. I grabbed the promoter by the neck and dragged him to the front door and shoved him out with a "never come back" parting message. He told his record friends that I was not "a fun person".

As the song says, different attitudes and latitudes.

 

[Kelly A]

And some record ducks think every station staffer is susceptible to payola. At one station, a promoter started pouring a very long and thick line on my desk! I whammed my hand on the desk, and the magic dust flew in the air. I grabbed the promoter by the neck and dragged him to the front door and shoved him out with a "never come back" parting message.

So the question is: what did you do with the line of coke after you tossed the 'record pig' out?
Donate it to the airstaff?
Just kidding!

 

[davideduardo]

So the question is: what did you do with the line of coke after you tossed the 'record pig' out?
Donate it to the airstaff?
Just kidding!

/Insert grin here
I had a 70's style trestle desk that flexed. When I hammered it with my fist, the magic dust flew into the air, never to be seen again
/frown at $100 waste of "good" coke

 

[ixnay]

If a station takes things from a record duck, and they are used "officially" by the station such as what you describe or, even, authorized attendance at shows that involve travel and other costs, that is legal. In fact, even tickets for staff to attend a concert or tickets to give to listeners are legitimate promotional activities.

What's a "record duck"?

 

[Kelly A]

What's a "record duck"?

David is trying to avoid calling them: 'Record Pigs'.

 

[davideduardo]

David is trying to avoid calling them: 'Record Pigs'.

We all had names for the record pi.... er, promoters. Going back to the early 70's a bunch of us who programmed in the South (Nashville, Knoxville, Montgomery, Birmingham, Jackson) called them "ducks" because all they could do was quack, "play my record, play my record, play..."

My favorite was the phone message of the PD of Power 106 in the late 90's: "You've reached Jimmy Steale, program director of Power 106. If you are a record promoter, you can hang up now. Otherwise, leave a message."

 

[boombox4]

I was told by a guy at a local commercial pop/R&B station that most of the actual payola was internal in the record companies, and he thought that a lot of it involved drugs as well as money. That was his take on it. Being that there was a lot of pressure inside record companies for one group to be promoted over another, or a group not wanting to be dropped, I can see how that could have taken place.

 

[vchimpanzee]

1960 - my junior year in high school - and the music sucked! Girl groups, all sounding alike, popping up all over the place.

Not sure why, but as I hear all these girl groups on the radio stations I like, they sound good.

 

[TheBigA]

Meanwhile an organization called MusicFirst continues to put forth the idea that radio companies should pay record labels for the use of their music on the radio.

https://www.radioworld.com/news-and-business/headlines/musicfirst-fmc-see-inequities-in-am-fm-policy

musicFIRST promotes new survey results, seeking to end AM/FM music royalty exemption - RAIN News

A newly released national poll commissioned by artist advocacy group musicFIRST intends to paint a picture of an American public that wants AM/FM terrestrial radio broadcasting to pay artist royalties for recordings played on-air. We cover the survey results and both sides of an ongoing lobby...

rainnews.com

BTW there is no "royalty exemption," as the article states. The fact is that there never was a royalty established to begin with. There was no collection structure created, and there was no payment system. So to say there is an exemption implies intent. There was no intent for record labels to collect royalties from radio.

 

[davideduardo]

I was told by a guy at a local commercial pop/R&B station that most of the actual payola was internal in the record companies, and he thought that a lot of it involved drugs as well as money. That was his take on it. Being that there was a lot of pressure inside record companies for one group to be promoted over another, or a group not wanting to be dropped, I can see how that could have taken place.

Whether individual departments or divisions at record companies competed with each other does not change the definition of payola as being the granting of favors to radio station staff members in exchange for airplay without the knowledge of and benefit to the station owners.

Back when the first investigations were done in the late 1950's, payments were in cash, trips or merchandise... not drugs (yet).

If money were given to the station itself, then that is "advertising" and legal as long as sponsorship is identified.

 

[Kelly A]

I was told by a guy at a local commercial pop/R&B station that most of the actual payola was internal in the record companies, and he thought that a lot of it involved drugs as well as money. That was his take on it. Being that there was a lot of pressure inside record companies for one group to be promoted over another, or a group not wanting to be dropped, I can see how that could have taken place.

Don't think that description would be technically considered payola. Payola is essentially 'pay-for-play' (or reporting). If working for a radio station, you take something of value in exchange for playing a song, or reporting the station is playing a song when it's never entered rotation, is considered payola. Stealing from their employer (the record company), or doing illegal drugs at work, is a violation of most company policies for employee conduct.

 

[TheBigA]

If money were given to the station itself, then that is "advertising" and legal as long as sponsorship is identified.

The net result of this decision was the creation of a "music director" position at radio stations, so record labels dealt with someone in station management rather than the DJ.

 

[davideduardo]

The net result of this decision was the creation of a "music director" position at radio stations, so record labels dealt with someone in station management rather than the DJ.

Or, simply what most Top 40 stations did which was have the PD determine the playlist and prohibit individual shows and jocks from playing their own choices.

Freed was a jock who controlled his own show. When still in Cleveland, he was at an old-line network and MOR station and did a night show after the network lineup was over. There was no supervision as he brought his own client, as did, a few years later, Pete Myers.

In most larger markets and by the end of the 50's, jocks were not given playlist freedom.

Except at larger market stations, the music director was simply someone who took all the record promoter calls; songs were not added without the PD's approval. The MD simply thinned the herd and checked the trades and tip sheets.

 

[TheBigA]

Freed was a jock who controlled his own show. When still in Cleveland, he was at an old-line network and MOR station and did a night show after the network lineup was over. There was no supervision as he brought his own client, as did, a few years later, Pete Myers.

Today we'd call it a brokered show, since he sold his own time. That situation changed when he went to WINS but Allan still wanted to promote & host concerts. In those days, a lot of DJs were music entrepreneurs in many ways, with their own publishing companies (that was one of Dick Clark's businesses), concert promotion (KYA's Tom Donohue promoted the Beatles concert at Candlestick in 1966), and other side businesses. Today, DJs basically live off their radio salary.

The other aspect was the growth of the music business, from small local labels to international conglomerates. They wanted to own and control all aspects of their artists careers. So they got into publishing and other businesses, pushing out the DJs.

 

[davideduardo]

Today we'd call it a brokered show, since he sold his own time.

It was not brokered. He did not buy the time, he was an employee... but he had to find sponsors to keep his job. He found a big one with Record Rendezvous on Prospect in downtown Cleveland.

That situation changed when he went to WINS but Allan still wanted to promote & host concerts. In those days, a lot of DJs were music entrepreneurs in many ways, with their own publishing companies (that was one of Dick Clark's businesses), concert promotion (KYA's Tom Donohue promoted the Beatles concert at Candlestick in 1966), and other side businesses. Today, DJs basically live off their radio salary.

Lots of jocks had side businesses. I recall dropping in on WTRU in Muskegon, MI, around 1962 on a Friday afternoon and the PM drive jock invited me to his record hop at a YMCA gym; it was his own side gig and he did two or three hops a weekend for extra money.

The other aspect was the growth of the music business, from small local labels to international conglomerates. They wanted to own and control all aspects of their artists careers. So they got into publishing and other businesses, pushing out the DJs.

Even so... and even despite the efforts to collect artist and label royalties from radio... record companies still do intensive radio promotion.

 

[TheBigA]

Even so... and even despite the efforts to collect artist and label royalties from radio... record companies still do intensive radio promotion.

My view is the effort to collect royalties is mostly coming from the foreign corporate owners. If it was, they could simply shut down all promotion efforts. What most big labels do is deduct promotion expenses from artist payments. Meanwhile the artists make additional money by joining in the songwriting process, a trick Colonel Tom Parker learned back in the 50s. Everyone is getting paid.