It was 46 years ago today (May 20) Music DJ Alan Freed, originator of the term "Rock and Roll," was indicted in New York in the Payola scandal. Freed had accepted $30,650 from five record companies to play their records.
Alan Freed, "The Big Beat", WNEW-TV, New York City, 1959
"Pay for play" was the accepted practice up to that point, but Freed's heavty price tag was the straw that broke the camel's back.
Freed promoted himself the "father of rock and roll." He is credited with coining and popularizing the term "rock and roll" to describe the style of music.
Pictured with Chuck Berry
Freed also is credited with helping to advance racial equality by introducing African American performers into the white mainstream.
A time that is slowly being forgotten...
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No kidding, money powers the greed and people out there making some awesome music get the cold shoulder....
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A strange but interesting anniversary to remember. Nice one Sturgell.
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These days it's perfectly all right for a station (not a DJ - very very few of them have any control of what they play anymore) to accept money to promote music, as long as they announce that they have.
Of course, they're not required to say anything that might sound like they were dishonest, like "Now we're going to play a song no rational person would ever listen to, and tell you how great it is, for which we will get $2000."
No at some point in the broadcast day they have to mention something like "Portions of this programming were paid for by Ghodawful Records," or words to that effect.
I'm so glad i grew up in the 50s and 60s and remember the 70s, too - when even the crooks in radio were more honest than the people running it today.
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At least college radio today (a) has some sway in some sense (in a college market anyway) and also (b) can more or less play what the college DJ wishes to play.
But yeah the thought that payola isn't happening today just because it's institutionalized and formalized with contracts & such is totally ludicrous. At least back then it may've been illegal but it was for a good cause... sort of... hmm... okay I'm not so confident about that...
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"even the crooks in radio were more honest than the people running it today."
Amen! Great point, Fairport!
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Yes indeed. Just because the payoffs are now above board doesn't make it hunky-dory. (Stop the "American Idol"-ization of pop!!!) At least, Freed gave exposure to the deserving and otherwise marginalized.
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I keep thinking "Only 30 grand?". Even in 1950's dollars, that doesn't seem like a drop in the corrupt ocean of music industry we're running these days.
-Dusk
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Funny because I accidentally didn't read the entire title correctly and I have a friend, a DJ named Alan Freed, formerly of XM, and was worried that he was in trouble :-).
Anyways, great to be reminded of this. Nice post!