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the surprise is that folk imagine that payola stopped at some point.
from what i would see in the late 1970s, i have wondered (and still do) the extent to which the top 40 is structured by the transfer of large amounts of cocaine and other such party favors transferred from record label flaks to djs at radio stations. radio play for other forms of pop music (broadly construed)---same pattern.
there are many many reasons to cheerlead the implosion of the majors: payola is just one of them.
for example, at this point, given the way in which the net and audio technology have been converging, there is no reason for musicians accepting points on their own work for the privelege of allowing that work to enter into this kind of system.
the problem that is created (already) by the possibilities of bypassing the major labels and accessing an audience directly is that the entire music press at this point is geared toward reviewing commercial releases. eventually, i suspect you will see entirely different modes of sorting/reviewing beging to take shape--if that happens and folk start looking to this new press for information about music that is available, the implosion of the existing record labels will accelerate.
i for one will be standing on the sidelines, waiting for the fire to start, cheering it as it mounts.
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a gramophone its corrugated trumpet silver handle
spinning dog. such faithfulness it hear
it make you sick.
-kamau brathwaite
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