New York DJ Alan Freed got royalties off Chuck Berry’s “Maybelline”. Why? Because he played the song on his radio station and helped break the record.
It is called payola and it got him in boatloads of trouble.
Fastforward 20 years and Pink Floyd have the biggest album and single in the world in The Wall and “Another Brick In The Wall”and with a three day sold out opening tour run at the Los Angeles Memorial Arena in February 1980, CBS decided it was time to break the back of the record promotion business, where “hitmen” -independet record promoters, were sent out with hookers drugs and money to push songs on radio stations.
CBS refused to payoff L.A.’s number one radio station. And the station refused to play Pink Floyd. The day before the concert CBS bowed and sent off the payoff and the next minute the song was in heavy rotation.
That was then.
This is now.
Radio doesn’t have the power it once had, major labels don’t have the money they once had. And while (please take heed, this is a rule for living): anything that can be corrupt will be corrupt, hitmen today are a different breed. They are industry pros pushing the product.
How do they do it?
I don’t know but we hope to speak to come college radio promoters and tell you.