This Just In: Music Industry Is Sleazy

There is an interesting article about the demise of payola at Salon (you have to view an ad, but it's for Powells.com, which I support). For many years, record companies have been paying independent middlemen to basically bribe radio stations into playing their artists. Of course, the record companies were charging their artists to pay for it, but that's another story. The indefatigable Eliot Spitzer is investigating the practice, which appears to be barely legal (my hits just went up!) and very unethical. So the record companies are putting a stop to the practice to avoid bad publicity. There is some question whether this will have a positive effect for smaller record companies who could get their songs on the radio with the right middleman. There is also a mention of how the Who, along with some other "marquee bands," broke a boycott against one of these "indies" in the 80s because their songs weren't getting played. It's an interesting read if you are interested in the business practices of the music industry.