Someone emailed me, asking if I wanted to be on their Hip Hop and Rap playlist. And because I’m so fed up with payola.. pay to play (pay money to get your song played)… I sent him a long response back. Check it out:
Hey Oliver,
I’m obviously down to get on your playlist! Buttt I’m not down for payola. You know many many years ago, the only way for an artist to get on the radio was to pay the dj to play them. So there were artists with amazing songs out there.. but they couldn’t pay the djs more money than other artists. Guess who got heard? The ones that paid! But is that fair? That radio play was based on who had the most money rather than based on the quality of the music?
I don’t think it’s fair. Neither did a lot of other people. So they made Payola illegal. Yet here we are. And Payola still exists! In Radio, in Spotify, literally everywhere. In Radio, they use a middle man… someone not affiliated to the major record labels.. and they call him an “indie promoter”… which is all bullshit. He is working directly for the major labels, carrying their money.. handing it to radio stations.. to play their musician. Its payola, but the labels avoid being seen engaging in direct payment with a radio station. Now you.. with your Spotify playlist. I have one question.. how much do I have to pay you to be on your playlist?
Payola still exists. And its literally retarded. (Sorry for my language) But if you think I’m lying.. look up all the songs on the radio. I bet you they are all signed to major labels. And there’s hundreds of thousands of incredible independent artists or artists on independent labels… Getting radio play. It’s all about the dollars it’s crazy.
for more details on this bs.. head to the link below.
Peace & Love tho,
Billy