FINAL EXAMINATION

Payola turns everything the other way around.
BY KATRINA C. GUEVARRA

“Has corruption become a value?”

This was a question raised by Guillermo Luz of the Makati Business Club in the book launch of Chay Florentiono-Hofilena’s “News for Sale” back in 1999. It was published in the Philippine Journalism Review by Evelyn Katigbak on the same year.

Funny that was published way back in 1999--but the same question still applies today. In Philippine media, it is through the form of payola given to various radio stations, whether AM or FM and even to print and TV stations as well. “Payola has been around eversince I could remember,” said Gerry Cornejo, a veteran broadcaster and TV host. “It comes in different forms either in cash or in kind. The more well-known or well listened to a broadcaster is, the higher the pay. Some are even given retainers”, he adds. A retainer is periodically given amount or gift to a media practitioner that doesn’t require them to always say good things about a particular subject, but when something bad about them comes up, you are required to defend them. That’s how payola works in AM radio according to Cornejo. “Sometimes, you’ll wonder how they are able to live such a luxurious lifestyle when they are earning the same measly amount as you do.”

Ever wonder why there are songs that get more airtime on the FM radio? Well, chances are, there is something going on under the table of our famous Disc Jockeys on the airwaves. Karen Derya, a DJ of YES FM relates how payola works in the world of FM radio “for example, songs that should have and deserve to be played, are replaced with these songs peddled by record companies that offer bribes.” This goes not only for airtime but for even a mention of a band or artist’s name in their programs as well.

No station is spared from these tempting offers of these companies and individuals –everyone gets a piece of the pie no matter how upscale your station is. “It’s grease money. It’s in our culture.” , said Joseph Javier or more popularly known as Mojo of Magic 89.9 after telling us the story of how he was offered a bribe of 10,000 pesos to mention a brand name on his radio show.

“It is awkward”, that’s how Joseph Javier – Mojo on air— feels when he is offered bribes. Though he is adamant in saying he never once accepted any. He also says he is rarely approached now, since he has established a reputation of not accepting any bribe. How he does it? Since there is no written rule against payola, he relies on the ethics he has learned in school to guide him in dealing with such situations. As Cornejo would like to emphasize, “you just have to rely on your morals and values to guide you through it – it’s a choice between right and wrong.”

According to Derya, grave sanction awaits DJs who are caught accepting payola. It maybe a particular DJ’s last as those who are proven guilty of this maybe fired. On the issue of whether music countdowns of radio stations are rigged in favor of particular artists or songs, Mojo admits that it happens, though not in his own station.

Now, how about those from the other side of the fence? Independent musician and Peryodiko’s vocalist, Vin Dancel, who claims to be a “virgin” when it comes to payola matters, tells us how it is to make your music be heard in this industry, minus the influence of big record companies. “With Twisted Halo before, we went to various FM radio stations in Manila like Nu, Jam and 103.5 to give our record on CDs to the station manager. The same goes when we ask provincial FM stations to play our songs.” The biggest struggle they encountered is logistics. “It’s hard to get into tri-media (TV, print and radio). Not all the radio stations want to play our songs,’ he relates. When it comes to CD distribution, they also encounter problems. “Since there are only limited outlets and some distribution outlets charges a higher cut, we are only able to distribute a limited number of our CDs.”

Dancel is aware of the payola issue though he still hasn’t seen it with his own eyes. He is deeply saddened assuming this has already become a norm. “Under our intellectual property law, the artists should get royalties whenever their songs get played in public –restos, bars, radio stations, etc. –if there is payola, then the opposite is happening. Artists pa kailangan magbayad.”

National Union of Journalists President, Jose Torres, reveals to us that the people who offer payola can range from politicians, record companies and even media practitioners themselves –mostly those who have formed friendships with their colleagues are the ones who have the guts to offer payola. He further reaffirms Cornejo’s prior statements by indicating how much the popular radio and print stations get. For those who are popular, “they really get a large amount, some are even offered government positions”said Torres. For those who are in tabloid, they get 5,000 monthly and those in broadsheets, they get 10,000 monthly as their retainers. “Some even get cars” Cornejo said.

On the much broader issue of conflict of interest concerning endorsements by media personalities, Mojo feels that for people who are entertainers, there is no problem in endorsing a product, and mentioning them in their programs, but when news people – newscasters, in particular – endorse or appear in commercials for certain products he says, “There might be a problem there.”

He would like to reiterate “Greed and vanity are the worst sins.”

SIDEBAR:
Payola – From Rock N’ Roll to Present
BY FRANCO ATTENTO

Payola is the method of giving gifts, commonly in the form of cash, in exchange of airtime, similar to bribing. It came from the contraction of the words “pay” and “Victrola” (an LP record player). Payola first entered the English language via the record business.

Payola originated along with the quiz show scandals of 1959. ASCAP (American Society of Composers, Authors, and Publishers), the world’s largest publishing house, pushed the investigators of the quiz show scandals to start investigate the radio industry. Upon hearing that radio will be investigated, some disc jockeys were fired and forced others to relinquish their interests they had in other fields such as publishing and record companies. WAIT disc jockey Phil Lind was first to make headlines on which a small indie label representative admitted to paying $22,000 of airplay. ASCAP concluded that the popularity of Rock ‘n Roll over “real” music could only mean one thing: Payola. However, the practice of payola was not illegal back then and is a vital tool for it to compete on equal footing.

Payola was not made illegal until 1960, when disc jockey Alan Freed was indicted of it.

Alan Freed was the first disc jockey to be indicted involving payola. He went under the name “Moondog” and was famous because of promoting African-American Rhythm and Blues to the United States and Europe. His career ended when he was accused of accepting payola from record companies to play their records. Payola was made illegal in 1960 and Freed was charged guilty to two charges of commercial bribery. He lost his own show on the radio station WINS and was fired at the same time.

Those with charges of payola are given a fine of $10,000 and one year in prison.

Another personality who was charged of payola was Dick Clark, an American television and radio personality, businessman and a game show host. He was accused and was testified on Congress during 1960, but was not charged of illegal activities. However, he was required by ABC (American Broadcasting Corporation) to divest his publishing and recording interests.

In spite of the laws of banning payola, it really didn’t go away from the music industry. In fact, payola still exists today, although not many companies do it today compared from back in the late 1950s. Mostly, now, it is used as a device for breaking new acts.

Sources:
www.wikipedia.org
www.history-of-rock.com
www.oldies.about.com