Uncharted: Crime and Mayhem in the Music Industry, episode 021: The Great American Payola Scandal (Part 2)

In 1960, after months of testimony and investigation, it was made illegal for anyone to bribe an American radio station or any of its employees to play a record. Payola was forbidden under punishment of jail time and a fine of up to $10,000.

It was hoped that this would keep the marketplace even and fair and no one—not a label, an artist, or anyone promoting that artist—could jump the queue to get a record played on the radio. Only songs with true merit would make it to the public. No more pay-for-play!

Yeah, nice try.

If one thing was learned from the Great American Payola Scandal, it was that radio airplay was essential to making money from a record. If promoters could no longer walk into a radio station with a bag of cash, a case of booze, some drugs, a couple of hookers, or the promise of gifts (such as expensive watches), then they needed to get creative.

There had to be less obvious ways of tipping the scales in their favour. And there were.

After those initial hearings and the laws passed in their wake, payola never went away…instead, it went underground, toughened up, and became even more sleazy.

As the music industry got bigger and became more corporatized through the 1960s and 70s, the competition got more intense. The amount of money to be made from music involved got exponentially larger. And it got rougher. A lot rougher.

By the time we got to the 80s, payola had once again become a monster. And this time, people got hurt.

This is episode 21 of Uncharted: Crime and Mayhem in the Music Industry and it’s part two of our look at the Great American Payola Scandal. And the stories just keep on coming.

If you missed part 1, go here.

Get Uncharted: Crime and Mayhem in the Music Industry wherever you get your podcasts. Both Uncharted and The Ongoing History of New Music will be heard back-to-back overnights five days a week on these Corus news stations:

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