Is It Pay for Play in Music Industry?

May 24 -- Matthew Harrison, who wants to get his music played on the radio, says he can't because of the radio industry's dirty little secret.

Harrison's CD, recorded for a small label, got good reviews from several local critics and on the Internet; but he and his producer, Jeff Robinson, have been unable to translate that success into play over the airwaves.

"People think Matthew Harrison sends his CD to all these radio stations and they say, 'Yeah, this sounds good. I'm going to play it,' " says Harrison. "It doesn't work that way."

The way it does work, they say, is that those with big bankrolls are the ones who get most stations just to listen to their music.

"It seems like now, [for] corporate-owned radio stations, it's not about the music so much as what compensation they are getting for playing the records," says Robinson.

Industry critics call it pay for play, and they say it's happening throughout the music business.

And the industry itself is apparently responding to the criticism. A coalition representing everyone from singers to record labels and consumers is expected to release a statement Friday acknowledging the problem, and asking the Federal Communications Commission to ban compensation in exchange for the playing of certain records.

Read the "Joint Statement on Current Issues in Radio" here.

"The system is crooked," says Jerry Del Coliano, who publishes Inside Radio. "You pay for access to radio stations and it's basically legalized payola."

"Payola" was outlawed in 1960, after a number of disc jockeys were charged with taking bribes from record companies to play their songs.

"In those days, you could learn to love a record that had a $100 bill on it," says Del Coliano. "If it had a $200 bill on it, … the disc jockey says, 'So nice, I'll play it twice.' "

Since it's now illegal for radio stations to take money directly from record companies in exchange for airplay, they have found a loophole in the law by using middlemen. Record companies say they're being forced to pay independent promoters, so-called indies. The indies then pay the radio stations, buying access to get the songs heard. And it's all legal.