Hello class,

This blog response is to module 2 question 2 “On Boxing and Music” in which I aim to discuss the historical context and key individuals from the early 1900s discussed in Michael Walsh’s Smithsonian article.  Next I will discuss the contrast between prevailing issues in society as reflected in the popular music of the time as discussed in Mark Harris’ Vulture article.  Each writer describes specific periods in history, both with a corresponding boxing match and example of popular music.  From a significance standpoint in terms of societal impact, these bouts are polar opposites.  Jack Johnson vs. Jim Jeffries in 1910 was dubbed the “fight of the century” as it took place against a backdrop of intense racial tensions between the white (Caucasian) and black (African) Americans.  Whereas Conor McGregor vs. Floyd Mayweather in 2017 was a distracting spectacle and unabashed cash grab, perhaps a fitting analogy for the spectacle taking place on the US political landscape.  Similar to sports, the popular music of the time can also reflect issues in society.  In 1910, music composer and pianist Scott Joplin was desperately trying to legitimize his ragtime style of music against dismissive preconceptions, and evolve his music into higher art forms.  In 2017, Taylor Swift is fighting back against critics and enemies, while attributing ownership of her behavior onto others.  Both these musical examples likewise reflect different societal contexts, which will be discussed below.

In Pursuit of Racial Equality–two philosophies

On January 1st, 1864, President Lincoln declared that all black slaves in the US were free. However, historically entrenched racism persisted within society leading to racial segregation “Jim Crow” laws.  Though free from slavery, the black population were not fully free to enjoy equal rights, liberties, and prosperity as the white population.  The early 1900s would see two outspoken individuals, Booker T. Washington and W.E.B. Du Bois, become leaders for black social uplift movements.

 Booker T. Washington (1856-1915)

Image courtesy of biography.com(1)

Washington was born into slavery, and throughout his whole life he struggled to attain an education.  As an adult he earned a scholarship to a vocational skills school, thus shaping his appreciation for industry (1).  Likewise, Washington advocated for fellow black people to become educated in trades skills.  In Washington’s famous “Atlanta Compromise” speech in 1895, he stated “[o]ur greatest danger is that in the great leap from slavery to freedom we may overlook the fact that the masses of us are to live by the productions of our hands, and fail to keep in mind that we shall prosper in proportion as we learn to dignify and glorify common labour, and put brains and skill into the common occupations of life” (2).  In essence Washington asked that black people persevere through racial discrimination, all while proving their own usefulness by becoming more educated in their trades.

William Edward Burghardt (W.E.B.) Du Bois (1868-1963)

Image courtesy of biography.com(3)

Du Bois was born into freedom and able to freely attend schools where he frequently found enthusiastic and helpful teachers and mentors.  Du Bois would later become the first African American to earn a doctorate from Harvard (3).  Unlike Washington’s social compromise urgings, Du Bois pushed for blacks to push back against discrimination to gain racial equality.  However, instead of Washington’s mass population approach, Du Bois believed a smaller group of highly educated individuals in broad liberal arts, whom he called “the Talented Tenth”, would act as leaders in black society to uplift the rest (4).

Joplin and Johnson–black icons during racial segregation

By the early 1900s, pianist and composer Scott Joplin, dubbed the “King of  Ragtime”, had moved to New York in 1907 as he developed his compositional ability to both legitimize ragtime music and incorporate it into his own original opera.  Jack Johnson meanwhile had just shocked the world in 1908 when he became the first African American heavyweight boxing champion of the world and was slated to soon fight the undefeated former champion Jim Jeffries.  Joplin and Johnson had both reached unprecedented levels of success in their careers, but both had profoundly different effects on the black social uplift movement taking place.

Scott Joplin (1868-1917)

Image courtesy of biography.com(5)

By the age of 26, Joplin had moved to Missouri where he toured around with local bands to earn money to seriously study music and composition (5).  Joplin would introduce a more classical interpretation of ragtime music, which was often denigrated as immoral and low class music, and he gradually gained popularity among the circuit of local clubs he worked at (6).  In 1889 Joplin would sell his most famous composition, the Maple Leaf Rag, which went on to become the first instrumental to break one million sheet music sales by 1914 (6).

With a steady stream of royalties income off of Maple Leaf Rag, Joplin was able to devote his time to teaching his ragtime style and to writing his operas.    Despite ragtime gaining popularity, it was still associated with immoral and tawdry behavior associated with the disreputable venues ragtime was often played in (7).  The opera was a European carryover considered to be entertainment for the upper class in society.  Joplin relentlessly pushed for his opera to be realized, but it only went as far as a poorly received initial run through in 1915, where sadly Joplin could not afford costumes, sets, or an orchestra.  With his opera rejected Joplin slipped into a depression, concurrent with his already  deteriorating mental and motor ability as a result of syphilis, and he soon passed away in 1917 (6).

Only after Joplin’s death would his name gain wide acclaim as ragtime music experienced a renaissance.  Several of Joplin’s rags were significant pieces of an Oscar winning soundtrack for the film Sting, which itself won the best picture award in 1974.  A whole new generation of listeners were being exposed to Joplin’s music, but in higher art forms outside of the red light districts.  Joplin’s opera Treemonisha was also produced, thus bringing his dream to fruition when it opened on Broadway in 1975.  Joplin was posthumously awarded the Pulitzer prize for his contribution to American music in 1976 (6).

Jack Johnson (1878-1946)

Johnson vs. Jeffries 1910 in Reno, Nevada.  Image courtesy of Timeline.com (8)

In the boxing world, Johnson seemingly exploded onto the scene out of obscurity.  As a black fighter, Johnson had only fought on the colored fighter circuit where he fought more than 50 bouts and was a dominant champion.  When Johnson finally entered the ring with white boxers, he quickly rose the rank of contenders in just over a year before capturing the heavyweight title in 1908.  Johnson’s victories and subsequent title defenses was a stark shock to all the preconceptions of white superiority over black athletes.  On top of breaking trough the status quo, Johnson also earned public scorn from his extravagant lifestyle and romantic relationships.  Johnson enjoyed the fruits of his labor by flaunting expensive clothing and vehicles, but even more unsettling to his predominantly white critics was he dated white women.  Desperate for an answer to Johnson, the undefeated former champion Jim Jeffries was compelled back out of retirement.

Jeffries was older than Johnson by seven years, and he had been retired for six years as a farmer before they fought in 1910.  To the shock of the 20,000 spectators Johnson dominated, from start to finish, the elder retiree Jeffries.  What ensued were race riots across America with hundreds injured and 26 killed within the day, all predominantly black (8).  That bout would serve as the peak of Johnson’s career, which then proceeded to tailspin as he was targeted for arrest pertaining to some of his past romantic dalliances.  Whether if those charges were racially-motivated or not, Johnson’s flaws as a serial abuser and philanderer with women made it difficult to defend his character.  As such, Johnson’s impact on black social progress was not through the manner he carried himself, but through the unprecedented novelty of his achievement that everyone was conditioned to believe was impossible.

Joplin and Johnson in perspective

Joplin best adopted Washington’s philosophy of perseverance against discrimination, while working towards translating his style of music into a higher art form that would hold societal value.  Washington’s message is strongly conveyed in Joplin’s opera’s title character, Treemonisha, a young black woman who uplifts her village from oppressive lies and superstitions through education and enlightenment.  Treemonisha exudes a quiet patience as she convinces her fellow villagers against seeking revenge against their oppressor, but instead to continue “marching onward” and to “walk slowly, talk lowly” as the opera closes (9).  This final message conveys Washington’s idea of black society’s acceptance of oppression being intertwined with their progress as they strive to earn trust and equality through patience and education.

Johnson meanwhile embodied Du Bois’ philosophy of becoming one of the elites within his population.  Although not in the classical sense of being highly educated, Johnson honed an elite fighting ability that would provide him the same platform as white fighters.  Johnson’s fights were shows of defiance as he constantly challenged oppressive forces whether they be from tens of thousands of angry fans, or even the government charging him with illegal acts.  Johnson’s accomplishments were the first stepping stones for future black athletes that now saw the myth of white superiority debunked.  One of the greatest boxers in history, Muhammad Ali, who was influenced by Johnson aptly summarized him as being a “bad, bad black man”, which Johnson was ultimately portrayed as for going against the norm.

Societal reflections: music of the past and today

McGregor vs. Mayweather in 2017 was in essence an on-demand novelty act.  In an era where the biggest action movies were collaborations of the most popular names and characters, it only seemed fitting that the most outspoken names in combat sports were paired together.  Besides the crossover appeal, this bout holds no significant social impact.  While on the popular music front, Taylor Swift’s “Look what you made me do” is a montage of her many brand and persona changes, as well as being an overall diss track to various celebrities and critics that have feuded with Swift.  Harris’ Vulture article opines that Swift’s song encapsulates the modern era in which society expresses apathy towards substantive character, but is instead obsessed with superficial public image and one’s celebrity.  Furthermore, Harris points out a contributing problem towards this apathy as being a cavalier attitude towards constantly changing one’s own narrative to placate others.  For music artists, reinventing oneself is not new, but it seems today there is almost an annual retooling of one’s style to fit the current mainstream sound.

As a reflection of eras, Joplin’s ragtime songs were an example of the struggle of black integration into white society as we hear ragged off time African-inspired syncopation among the regular marching beats.  Today’s music reflects how easily distracted we are with the sheer bombardment of media content, news, phone apps, etc., but it also shows the power of mass, anonymous opinions that are openly shared across the internet to the point that content producers have a direct vein to what consumers like or dislike.  Music of the early 1900s reflected struggle to stand out, while today’s is reverse consumerism of demand and supply where producers will give you what you want to hear.  Thus, the manner in which we digest music and perceive artists today is in constant flux depending on what the mainstream demand is at the time.  As a result, artists now put out wide ranging albums with songs encompassing multiple styles and genres to appease a diverse demographic.  In summary, the musical reflection of society today is everything on demand.

Endnotes

1. A&E Television Networks.  “Booker T. Washington Biography”  The Biography.com website, March 1, 2018., Accessed July 16, 2018. https://www.biography.com/people/booker-t-washington-9524663
2. “Booker T. Washington Delivers the 1895 Atlanta Compromise Speech.” HISTORY MATTERS – The U.S. Survey Course on the Web. Accessed July 17, 2018. http://historymatters.gmu.edu/d/39
3. A&E Television Networks. “W.E.B. Du Bois Biography” The Biography.com website, January 19, 2018., Accessed July 16, 2018. https://www.biography.com/people/web-du-bois-9279924
4. “W.E.B. Du Bois and the Rise of Black Education.” AUC Woodruff Library Digital Exhibits. Accessed July 27, 2018. http://digitalexhibits.auctr.edu/exhibits/show/seekingtotell/education
5. A&E Television Networks. “Scott Joplin Biography” The Biography.com website, January 19, 2018., Accessed July 17, 2018, https://www.biography.com/people/scott-joplin-9357953
6. “Scott Joplin (c. 1868 – 1917).” Moses Austin – Historic Missourians – The State Historical Society of Missouri. Accessed July 27, 2018. https://shsmo.org/historicmissourians/name/j/joplin/
7. Michael Campbell, Popular Music in America The Beat Goes On Fourth Edition, Boston MA, USA, Clark Baxter, 2013, p. 59-60
8. Reimann, Matt. “When a Black Fighter Won ‘the Fight of the Century,’ Race Riots Erupted across America.” Timeline. March 24, 2017. Accessed July 27, 2018. https://timeline.com/when-a-black-fighter-won-the-fight-of-the-century-race-riots-erupted-across-america-3730b8bf9c98
9. Rachel Lumsden. “Uplift, Gender, and Scott Joplin’s Treemonisha.” Black Music Research Journal 35, no. 1 (2015): 41-69. https://muse.jhu.edu/ (accessed July 19, 2018).

Among the many great acts of the 2018 Saskatoon Jazz Festival was the outstanding blues show put on by Ben Harper and Charlie Musselwhite on the summer evening of June 29th.

Ben Harper’s band consists of the legendary bluesman Charlie Musselwhite on the harmonica, Jimmy Paxson on drums, Jason Mozersky playing lead guitar, and Jesse Ingalls on bass and piano. Ben Harper came to fame as a Californian singer-songwriter with his first album releasing in 1995. Recently, Ben has transitioned to being a true blues musician, evident in his work with Charlie. In the band’s current arrangement Ben provides lead vocals and some tasty slide work on his lap steel guitar. Jimmy Paxson is a dummer that has played with many major names in the music industry, but most notably he supported Stevie Nicks in her solo career. Jimmy is a hard hitting beat-layer and never fails to make whatever band he is with look good. Jason and Jesse are the perfect combo to round off the sound of the band. Between Jason’s blazing guitar solos and Jesse’s solid bass performance with some heartfelt piano when needed, Ben could not ask for more from his rhythm section. Charlie Musselwhite is an essential addition to the legitimacy of Ben’s blues show. Charlie is linked to many of the classic blues stars such as Muddy Waters; he is so linked to the genre that he was inspiration for the cult classic film “Blues Brothers”. (Harper, 2018) His harmonica playing is the last piece to the puzzle of Ben Harper’s sound. This whole blog post could be made up of Charlie’s musical prowess, but lets stick to the task at hand.

The show took place at the outdoor Jazz Fest MainStage on a beautiful summer’s evening. A fair-sized crowd was drawn and they were all itching to take in a great blues show. Crowd diversity was strong; including people that would have seen Charlie play in the 60’s, fans of Harper’s first songs in the 90’s, and people like me just going to take in a blues show in some summer air. Everyone can relate to some element of the blues and it was evident with the crowd that night.

Most of the songs played were off of Ben and Charlie’s most recent album, “No Mercy In This Land”, with some surprises thrown in. Ben’s band played in a modern country blues style revolving around harmonica and slide guitar. Beats were played to a medium tempo, exciting but not rushing you along. Ben kept the stage banter to a minimum and kept the momentum of the show going. Donald Trump even received a shoutout before the song “I Don’t Believe a Word You Say”, resulting in some whoops and chuckles from the crowd. The song had a defiant feel to and As the sun went down, the concert was slowed down with the ballad-like song “When Love is Not Enough”. This song was more reminiscent to Ben’s earlier work but fit the atmosphere perfectly. Jimmy Paxson also proved his worth with a scorching drum solo midway through the set that earned a well-earned cheer from the crowd.

The climax of the concert arrived during a masterful performance of the legendary blues song, “When the Levee Breaks”. Ben and Charlie bring the well-known Led Zeppelin version of the song together with the original by Kansas Joe McCoy and Memphis Minne. This Youtube video features a very similar version from a different concert.

Filling John Bonham’s shoes on this song is a tall order for any drummer, but Jimmy Paxson played the part perfectly. The drums in the intro echoing off the back of the Bessborough and into the gardens was a striking moment in the performance.  The band circled around the main melodic riff that Ben plays on his slide guitar and Charlie provided his signature harmonica to capture the mood of the song.

Following that amazing cover, the band stepped off the stage to ready for the encore. The crowd cheered until Ben and company stepped back on stage. Two songs were played then we were gifted a truly special concert moment. With the sun down and the 11:00 noise bylaws kicking in, Ben stepped into the crowd with the band playing soft piano and harmonica and belted “All That Matters Now” without a microphone. The whole gardens fell silent to take in the moment, leading to an intimate and memorable end to the show.

Going into the concert I wasn’t sure what to expect and I wasn’t overly familiar with Ben’s work. I knew he was a well-known musician with a lot of dedicated fans but I hadn’t made it to his music yet in my musical journey. I always enjoy being introduced to a new artist and this concert was the best introduction I could have asked for. Ben Harper is a modern day bluesman through-and-through and puts on a show that no one will be disappointed with.

(Low quality screenshot of my Instagram story for proof-of-attendence)

References

1. “Ben Harper and Charlie Musselwhite”. Ben Harper. (accessed July 19) http://www.benharper.com/band
2. “Tours and Setlists”. Ben Harper. (June 29, 2018) http://www.benharper.com/tour/setlists/2018/2018-06-29-sasktel-saskatchewan-jazz-festival

Ever since the dawn of the music business it has been the dream of many to hit it big in the industry. Musicians work their whole lives to get noticed in the music world and when the hard work doesn’t pay off, sometimes they may have to resort to alternative methods. This struggle to get noticed in the music industry became blatantly obvious during the Payola Scandal of the late 50’s.

In the music industry of old, radio was an effective marketing tool used by record labels to sell more of their artist’s albums. Rock ‘n Roll crazed teenagers would hear the hit songs on the radio and swarm to buy the new album or single from their favourite musicians. At that time in the music industry American disk jockeys (DJs) had all the power in what music was played on the radio. As is the case in many positions of power, bribery ensued. Musicians and promoters cutting cheques to DJs for airplay ran rampant within the industry. Dollar values of the bribes are mostly kept under the covers but one DJ reported being offered over $20,000 to spin a record during his show (that’s equal to well over $100k in today’s money) . Upon learning the scale of situation, the government enacted an investigation (Neira, n.d.)  Listen to Dick Clark of the hit television show, “American Bandstand”, share his experience of payola.

The degree of Dick Clark’s innocence is largely unknown, but shortly before the hearings he cut ties to several record labels he had a stake in. Ultimately Dick got off scot free, DJ Alan Freed on the other hand wasn’t so lucky. Freed made it clear that he was not going play nicely during the investigation and paid dearly for it. He lost he lost his job and fell victim to 26 counts of commercial bribery along with a hefty fine (Neira, n.d.)

Following the scandal, DJs lost power in making decisions on which music was played during their shows and lost their place at the top of the music promoting machine; however, this did not stop the flow of money to the radio industry. Since the DJs no longer made schedule choices, the power shifted to the head of the station (Neira, n.d.).

Today radio stations hold much less power in the music industry than they had in the past, mainly due to the rise of popular music streaming services like Apple Music and Spotify. Even in the age of music accessibility, forms of payola still remain. Spotify will observe your listening habits and build playlists for you, with a portion of those songs being sponsored. It is a feature that can be disabled on the premium version of Spotify, but it is proof that payola will always exist as long as there is a market to sell to (Sanchez, 2017). Playlists are one of the top ways people discover new songs and some sources state that even songs on a playlist unlabeled as sponsored have bought their place (Peoples, 2015). Once a song is featured on a top playlist its plays will spike, earning that artist visibility in the cut-throat modern-day music industry.

The existence of payola obviously affects the music we are exposed to massively. In an ideal music industry, quality music would rise to the top and that would guide labels to support their artists in making the music they want to make. The advent of payola lead labels to search for hit makers so they could get the most out fo their bribes, and increase their bottomline. The question is then, how many great acts slipped through the cracks because they weren’t able to get noticed?

Overall, payola is a burden on the music industry. On the surface it seems be the simplest way to get noticed and kickstart a musicians career, but it also stacks the table further against the musician in an already difficult market. There is no way that a small indie artist can compete with a record label for a spot on a top playlist, making signing that record deal even more important. Luckily we live in a world where there are countless alternative routes to be discovered as a musician, look no further than the yodelling boy from the isles of Walmart. Payola will continue to be a force in the music industry but more avenues open up launch a successful career, its effectiveness will dwindle.

References

1. Neira, Bob. “Payola Scandal Rocks 50’s Radio”. Modesto Radio Museum. (accessed July 19, 2018) http://www.modestoradiomuseum.org/payola.html
2. Sanchez, Daniel. “Spotify Introduces a Brand New Feature: Payola”. Digital Music News. (June 20, 2017) https://www.digitalmusicnews.com/2017/06/20/spotify-sponsored-songs-payola/
3. Peoples, Glen. “‘Payola’ Infiltrates Steaming Services: Pay Per Play is ‘Definitely Happening’. Billboard. (August 19, 2015) https://www.billboard.com/articles/business/6670475/playola-promotion-streaming-services

Salt in the Wound

Our textbook for this course describes the payola scandal as the salt in the wound. To give some background information on the wound established before the payola scandal, rock and roll’s most important acts faced devastation and absence. Buddy Holly, who reintroduced sounds of first generation rock and roll and proved it could be more than dance music, died in a plane crash. Elvis Presley, who gave pop stars a sense of freedom and brought a new vocal sound into popular music, served in the army. His comeback two years later fell short since he had lost the edge that made him the king of rock and roll. The man responsible for the new beat of rock and roll, Little Richard, gave up his music career to become a preacher. Jerry Lee Lewi, known for his sexual song “Great Balls of Fire,” was caught in a scandal himself where he married his thirteen-year-old cousin while still being married to his previous wide, damaging his career. Chuck Berry, whose lead and rhythm guitar playing defined the reference point for rock sound, was arrested for Mann Act violation and severed two years in jail. To rub salt in the wound, the payola scandal broke out in 1959, contributing to the decline of rock and roll.

What is Payola?

Payola: Undercover or indirect payment (as to a disc jockey) for a commercial favor (as for promoting a particular recording).^[1]

This definition relates to our course as it describes the act that was the heart of this scandal. Disc jockeys, or more known as the abbreviation DJs today, are responsible for playing previously recorded music to a live audience, usually on the radio. This gives them a remarkable amount of power in the music industry as they essentially control what the public heard. However, the big labels paying the disc jockeys are the ones controlling what records became hits. Ultimately, any wealthy company could manufacture a popular song by paying for radio play.

The Rise of Disc Jockeys

From 1950 to 1957, the number of disc jockeys went from approximately 250 to 5000, multiplying by a factor of 20. The reason for this increase was partly due to new records being produced. As the number of disc jockeys rose, so did the importance of establishing unique on-air personalities. When disc jockeys became aware of their power, they established flat rate deals with labels to ensure a minimum amount of plays. For example, a moderately popular disc jockey would be paid $50/week to play one record multiple times. The most influential disc jockeys demanded percentages of money made from concerts, trips, free records, and merchandise. 

The practice of payola was so effective on the music industry that Variety and Billboard called for change and government involvement. ASCAP, the strongest licensing organization, also accused their main competitor, BMI, of payola and insisted investigation. During this time period, ASCAP associated with mostly white composers who wrote Tin Pan Alley songs. While BMI represented young, racially mixed composers of R&B and rock and roll songs, worked with indie labels, and licensed the music of black and country performers. By the mid-1950s, BMI released almost two singles for every single ASCAP release. The government didn’t get seriously involved with payola until it was featured on television.

At this point, the use of payola by disc jockeys was no longer being ignored. To prevent them from losing their licenses, radio stations fired disk jockeys who put them at risk. In November of 1959, 335, disc jockeys across the country admitted to receiving over $263 000 in what they called consulting fees in court. That number didn’t represent the amount of money disc jockeys were truly obtaining.

Major Players

The trial became more interesting when two of the most influential disc jockeys, Alan Freed and Dick Clark, were called to testify. These men both played significant roles in the rise of rock and rock, but denied accepting any payola.

In his past, Alan used his job as a disc jockey to promote music he liked. Throughout his career, he eventually accepted some sort of bribery in return for guaranteed radio play. Unfortunately, Alan ended up taking the blame for all disc jockeys in America due to his overall reputation. He was friends with R&B musicians, jive talked, smoked, and looked restless. Compared to Dick’s handsome looks and politeness, Alan seemed like a better target for the committee. After being questioned, he lost many of his friends in the broadcasting industry. Once he refused the sign a document confirming he never accepted payola, he was fired from WABC and charged with twenty-six counts of commercial bribery. At the end of the trial, he received fines, a suspended and jail sentence. Although he was the man who gave rock and roll its name, the payola scandal destroyed him.

Dick’s clean reputation wasn’t the only reason for his escaping of the payola scandal. Before the trial, he cleverly cut ties that would’ve incriminated him including part ownership of seven indie labels, six publishers, three record distributors, and two talent agencies. In conclusion, the lesson he learned from the payola trial was “protect your ass at all times.” He is now known for surviving the payola scandal.^[2]

Government Involvement  

On February 11, 1960, President Eisenhower addressed payola as an issue of public morality. As a result, the Federal Communications Commission proposed a new law, making payola a criminal act. The main concern of the committee was the abuse of public airwaves radio stations used to broadcast their signals.

The trial resulted in the Federal Communications Act banning secret payments and requiring broadcasters to disclose if airplay for a song was purchased. Payola became a criminal offense with a penalty of up to $10 000 in fines and one year in jail. Although this scandal changed the law, payola managed to survive through the loophole of private payments. Instead of eliminating the act payola, the trials reorganized the practice.

  First of all… what is payola?

Prior to beginning I wanted to admit that I have never heard the term payola. Therefore, if you also went “wait…what” when you heard of the Payola Scandal here’s a quick explanation: payola is manufacturing a popular song by paying for radio air time (This Day in History, 2018). Payola is when you bribe someone to use their influence in order to persuade others. Okay then, let’s get started.

History of Payola

Payola became a well-known word in the 1950s with the convergence of rock ‘n roll and R&B. Radio stations were playing top 40 hits in celebration after the war.  Instead of live performances, records turned into the best way to listen and sell music. Disc jockeys were in high demand and because they were widely needed they could list their price, any price, to labels and distributors. Sometimes this meant extravagant, all-paid trips, free records, and merchandise. Joe Finan, a disc jockey during this time, said the 1950s were “a blur of booze, broads and bribes” (Hutchinson, 2015).

Payola caught the eye of Variety and Billboard who then demanded a government intervention. ASCAP and BMI were performing rights organizations at the time that competed with one another. ASCAP, a group mainly composed of old white men, was sure to mention their opposition to payola trying to accuse BMI, a group mainly composed of young racially diverse writers, of supporting payola. ASCAP was pulling at straws because they were used to being number one. However, in the mid-50s BMI nearly doubled ASCAP’s single releases (Hutchinson, 2015).

The government didn’t take the payola accusations seriously until a particular scandal where the over-half-a-million-dollar question on “Twenty-One”, a TV show, was rigged in 1958 (Neira, 2004).

Government investigation

Why involve congress in the first place you ask? Abuse of public trust. Airwaves over radio stations are property of American citizens and the government didn’t want any lawsuits on their hands (This Day in History, 2018).

Radio stations fired their DJs due to the threat of losing their licenses. In 1959 over 300 disc jockeys worldwide admitted to charging “consulting fees” of over $263,000. One DJ even admitted that he received over twenty grand to play one record (Hutchinson, 2015).

Major players

Alan Freed and Dick Clark were two young disc jockeys who grew to be quite popular during the time of the payola scandal.  Freed was deemed to be rough around the edges. Much to everyone’s disapproval he associated with black musicians. “He jive talked, smoked constantly and looked like an insomniac” (Hutchinson, 2015).

Clark was virtually Freed’s opposite. He lived a clean and respectable life due to his partial ownership of labels, publishers, distributors and agencies. It should come as no shock that when put on the stand, after both denying participation with payola, Freed got charged with twenty six counts of commercial bribery and Clark got off scot free (Hutchinson, 2015).

Result

Clark became a famous cultural icon dear to the hearts of Americans and Freed, who invented rock ‘n roll’s name, died five years after his prison sentence poor and alone (Kelly, 2016). The aftermath of the payola scandal also consisted of a Federal Communications Act passed by congress in 1960. The new law forbid “under-the-table payments and required broadcasters to disclose if airplay for a song had been purchased” (Hutchinson, 2015). If you got caught you would receive a fine of at most $10,000 and a year in jail (Hutchinson, 2015).

Today’s version

Labels hire indie promoters to sell records to radio stations, promoters pay radio stations in cash, giveaways, and assorted swag, and those same promoters lure an additional cost from the stations to “consult” on which songs should be included in the playlist rotations (Kelly, 2016). The bigger labels have bigger budgets and can beat out any new up-and-comers. Hence the vicious cycle continues to repeat itself.

Why should we care?

Lester Bangs, an American journalist, critic, author, and musician, expressed his fear that the future of radio would be a “sanitized, soulless music landscape” (Kelly, 2016). And I would assume we are pretty much there. Stations are so swayed to play certain songs that the playlist you are forced to listen to on a daily basis are bland, repetitive, and numbingly dry.

Payola, bad or good?

As someone who listens to the radio every time I get into my car I think payola is essentially a suspiciously bad thing. Even though I do like the idea of sending merchandise and giveaways to stations in order for them to reward their listeners I cannot get over the influence and persuasion that occurs as a result. Don’t get me wrong, support is a huge thing but it errors on the side of bribery and the fallout is me hearing the same song five times in one hour. Nobody likes that.

#M6Q3

(2018). The payola scandal heats up. This Day in History. Retrieved from https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/the-payola-scandal-heats-up

Kelly, K. (2016). A brief history of American payola. Noisey. Retrieved from https://noisey.vice.com/en_us/article/64y8y9/a-brief-history-of-american-payola

Hutchinson, L. (2015). Alan freed and the radio payola scandal. Performing Songwriter. Retrieved from http://performingsongwriter.com/alan-freed-payola-scandal/

Neira, B. (2004). Payola scandal rocks 50’s radio. Modesto Radio Museum. Retrieved from http://www.modestoradiomuseum.org/payola.html

For my concert review I attended the Country Thunder Music Festival in Craven Saskatchewan. I had the opportunity to listen to an up and coming country band called Midland. The group is composed of 3 members and best friends. Mark Wystrach, Cameron Duddy and Jess Carson. The band was first formed in 2013 in Jackson Hole, Wyoming where Duddy was set to get married, Wystrach and Carson were his groomsmen. After a night of informal performances, the group realized they had musical chemistry and decided to form a band (Monger). Wystrach is the lead vocalist and does backup guitar. Duddy plays the bass guitar and contributes to backup vocals. Carson is the lead guitarist and also contributes to back up vocals.

The group then relocated to Dripping Springs, Texas where they recorded their first series of tracks at the Sonic Ranch Studios. After releasing a few tracks they were discovered by The Big Machine Record Company out of Nashville, Tennessee who signed them to their first major label in 2016.  Under Big Machine Records the group released their self-titled Expended Play (EP) in 2016 and later their first full length studio album titled “On the Rocks” in September of 2017. Their single “Drinking Problem” has reached #4 on the Billboard Country charts in the United States and #1 in Canada (Gugala, 2017). The group cites county legends The Eagles, George Strait and Dwight Yoakam as their main source of inspiration. The name Midland comes from the song by Dwight Yoakam called “Fair to Midland” and is also a reference to a town by the same name in southwest Texas.

The Band is described to have a very Traditionalist feel to it.  New traditional/Neotraditional country is a country music style that takes inspiration from the honky-tonk and bluegrass era. This style blends the old-school instrumentation with smooth contemporary production (ThoughtCo., 2017). Midland’s stage presence is also closely tied to this era as all the band members dress with styles relating to country music artists of the 1940’s and 50’s. The vocals from Midland differ from the traditional country vocals because there is a lot of infection and harmonizing performed by the band members. A song that exemplifies this is a song called “Make a little”. This song starts off with a harmonization from the three band members and has a catchy western swing throughout the whole piece.

Other instruments used in their set include the steel guitar, drums, banjo and the fiddle.  My favourite instrument that was used in their set is the steel guitar, it is not like your typical guitar which is played vertically. Instead the steel guitar is played flat across the lap using metal fingerpicks and a metal steel bar that slides up and down the neck. The result is the ability of the musician to play unlimited glissandos which is a slide from one pitch to another.

The Venue of the Country Thunder music festival in Craven Saskatchewan is about as country as a musical festival can get. It is located in a large open field where people can park their campers or pitch tents and have a fun weekend filled with music and entertainment. The venue in set with a mosh pit in front of the stage with bleachers in the back and an open area on the sides where people and sit on the grass of bring lawn chairs.

A lot of Midland’s songs are about love and the band members personal experience with romance. I feel like a lot of people who were in attendance can relate to these types of songs as everyone has had their own personal experience with romance whether it be successful or failed relationships. An example of this is the song “Out of Sight” where Wystrach talks about a girl who left him and her absence drove him crazy. The lyrics for this song are “She’s gone and everyone knows that she’s out of sight and I’m out of my mind”. This concert was very meaningful to me because my best friends brother was a big Midland fan, sadly he passed away in 2017. His favourite song was “Drinking Problem” and whenever I hear that song It brings back all the memories I had spending time with him.

Bibliography

Gugala, J. (2017). How Country Trio Midland Are Bridging the Country-Pop Divide . Retrieved from https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-country/how-country-trio-midland-are-bridging-the-country-pop-divide-128506/

Monger, T. (n.d.). Midland Biography. Retrieved from https://www.allmusic.com/artist/midland-mn0003567510/biography

ThoughtCo. (2017). History of Neotraditional Country Music. Retrieved from https://www.thoughtco.com/history-of-neotraditional-country-music-931987

I used Spotify’s Elvisulization chart to structure this weeks blog post. If you’ve never seen it before, the chart draws more paths than I can count stemming from Elvis to band after band after band. Its done to highlight the line of influence between artists through the years. The influence each band had on each other ranges from genre to personal style. I’m going to explore the relations in the chain starting with Elvis, then Led Zeppelin, then the Beastie Boys, and finally Eminem.¹

Elvis

Elvis is known world wide as the king of rock, and to some the king of style influence. He was born in 1935 in Mississippi, rose to fame in the 50’s, and dies in 1977. His early music was influenced by gospel sounds, he was raised with church involvement since he was a baby. As his music expanded he got very involved in the rock and roll scene. His music was risqué and so were his moves. Mothers would cover daughters eyes when his dancing was shown on television. His ground breaking music and daring stage presence opened the gates for other bands to feel free in expressing themselves as he did.²

Led Zeppelin

Led Zeppelin is always quoted on how they idolized Elvis Presley. They admired how daring he was with his music in the early days and they were inspired by that boldness, taking it a step further themselves. In my personal opinion, Led Zeppelin was the birth of the Metal Rock music, but that’s an argument for another time. Elvis cracked the rock door open, but Zep swung it wide open unafraid of potential ridicule and of how the public may react to an even heavier sound. The metal rock band has on numerous occasions credited Elvis on the moody and soulful presence in their music. Front man and lead vocalist, Robert Plant, even told Elvis the first time they met that he likes to sing his music during microphone checks before shows.³

Beastie Boys

A lot of the Beastie Boys music was about young adulthood and adolescence. They were a lot more of a hip hop/punk sounding band in comparison to other that were largely Rock ‘n’ Roll in that time. Like the influencers mentioned above, the took the genre in their own direction, mixing bluesy lyrics with heavy choruses, or hip hop beats with soulful lyrics. The Beastie Boys even used riffs from Led Zeppelins music in their own song “She’s Crafty” and had done this with LP’s song “custard Pie” too. Needless to say Zeppelin majorly influenced BB’s music, although not in the typical inspired to be themselves way, but more in the musical genius way.⁴ The band did get called out for ripping off Zeppelin, but they never seemed too mad. In fact, Jimmy Page once said they took it as a compliment.⁵ Maybe asking permission and crediting the band might have been a smart move.

Eminem

Eminem is the performance name of a 45 year old American rapper born and raised in Missouri. He grew up in poverty in ‘the hood’ of his hometown. He’s was bullied and brought up with a single mother who he describes as deadbeat and a drug addict in multiple songs.⁶ Discovering his love for music and Rap Mathers would compete in street level underground scene in Detroit and in recognized rap battles throughout Missouri, often coming out on top. In 1996 after the birth of his daughter he released his first album. A rough life gave Eminem a lot to rap about but his history wasn’t and isn’t his only source of inspiration. He made public a list showing the top rap artists that inspired him and he credits to getting him where he is today. The number two spot he gave to the Beastie Boys.⁷ In his song “Berzerk” he makes multiple references to old Beastie Boys music and told The Rollingstones Magazine “The whole song to me feels like vintage Beastie Boys” then he went on to make a face mimicking Ad-Rock in the BB song “Pass the Mic”.⁸ Although Eminem’s look is very much his own, and his music is just the same, he makes it very clear through interviews and through shout outs in songs that his motivation to make music, not necessarily the music itself (though he does love it), is largely from the bands he grew up loving.

From Elvis inspiring Led Zeppelin to kick down the rock door, to LZ influencing lyrics and music in The Beastie Boys music, to The BB’s inspiring Eminem to push himself and work towards where he is now, music wouldn’t be what it is today. Rock and roll and music in general would not have gone in the direction it has without the backbone that is Elvis. The butterfly effect of his inspiring music and not caring of what the world thinks of him has touched every artist who has surfaced since his time. A true icon.

Work Cited

1. “The Elvisualization,” accessed July 18^th, 2018 http://static.echonest.com/insights/elvis/elvisulization.html .
2. “Elvis Presley Biography,” accessed July 18^th, 2018 https://www.biography.com/people/elvis-presley-9446466 .
3. “The Day Led Zeppelin Met Elvis Presley,” accessed July 18^th, 2018 http://ultimateclassicrock.com/led-zeppelin-meet-elvis-presley/ .
4. “30 Years Ago,” accesses July 18^th, 2018 http://ultimateclassicrock.com/beastie-boys-led-zeppelin-licensed-to-ill/
6. “Eminem Biography,” accessed July 19^th, 2018 https://www.biography.com/people/eminem-9542093
7. “Eminem Names the 15 Rappers Who Influenced Him,” accessed July 19^th, 2018 http://www.howtorapbook.com/2015/07/eminem-names-the-15-rappers-who-influenced-him/.

“Eminem Talks Beastie Boys,” accesses July 19^th, 2018 https://www.complex.com/music/2013/11/eminem-talks-beastie-boys-influenc

The term,”payola”, basically means a bribe in business or commerce. This was, in terms of our class, how musical acts or those representing musicians would have their music played in the  influential radio stations. We have already read a little about personalities like Alan Freed and how they made the careers of those like the late great Chuck Berry. Freed was in a powerful position, stationed in New York City, during  a time when ” rock and roll was on the air and in the air.” (1) He, like many other DJ’s, knew that they had the power to make or break dreams and capitalized on that position. In the following paragraphs, I will discuss the history of this practice, major players involved, what was done to rectify this unequal practice, and whether this still happens in some hidden form today.

History of Payola in the Music Industry

From the time that radio stations started to make a profit, there was some form of payola situation. The public had no real understanding of how a song became a top hit. The truth was for someone to get that coveted number 1 hit and possibly a huge payday, they, or someone backing them would have to go to the high level radio stations and pay them to play their recording. After all, the more people that could hear and maybe like your music, the better chance there was that they would buy your music. It was just the way business was done.  Starting in the 1940s, ad agencies just told those who asked that they added up jukebox requests and sheet music sales to determine who was at the top. This went on and became much more prevalent by the time Rock and Roll started to gain more popularity in the late 1950’s. Not only did Freed have his reputation tarnished, but others like Dick Clark, nearly had their careers destroyed before they got going. By the 1960’s, these and other “song pluggers” (2) would have their wages put in jeopardy by the US Congress.

Those Involved

In 1950, there were approximately 250 DJ’s in the US. This number grew to around 5000 in just 7 years. That’s how fast and how much money was involved. Of those 5000, there were several big names involved on the DJ side. I have already mentioned Freed and Clark, but there were others like Joe Finan in Cleveland and Phil Lind in Chicago who would be brought forward to testify.

The 2 major entities that represented the artists were very much involved as well. As we read in our texts, the ASCAP, which represented the old guard in the music industry, and the BMI , who looked out for the racially diverse R and B artists, were both deeply immersed in the process as well. By the mid 1950’s, BMI represented artists had about 2/3 of the top single releases, which had the old guard, ASCAP, implying that BMI was “promoting payola”.(3)

Congress Investigation

It wasn’t until certain TV game shows were found to be rigged in 1958, (most famously, the show Twenty One was found to be fixed), (4), that the American government decided to investigate. During their investigation, they uncovered hundreds of schemes around the country. It was found that the standard payoff for playing a single was $50 per week. Later in the hearings, this number was found to only be the tip of the iceberg when DJ Phil Lind testified he had once received $22,000 to play a record.(5)

In the end, Dick Clark was charged with 26 counts of accepting bribes, and Alan Freed just received some fines and a suspended jail sentence. Both men lost their jobs and Freed died 5 years later, a broke man. Clark, however, went on to an illustrious career in television. Hundreds of DJ’s lost their jobs as well when the government added fines of up to $10000 to any radio station charged and convicted of taking bribes. The radio stations were not willing yo take any chances by 1960, and if there was any chance a DJ could be charged, they were let go.

Modern Day Payola?

Yes, even recently payola schemes are a part of the music industry. The US federal government has had to adjust the laws they put in place all those years ago to assure the punishment fits the crime with increases in fine limits. One particular case in 2005 had Sony BMG fined $10 million dollars for engaging in a payola scheme. The charges revolved around “plays of the latest Jessica Simpson album”,(6), where DJ’s were rewarded with cash and gifts for air time.

More investigations are ongoing.

In Closing

In my opinion, the music industry is not any different than any other business when it comes to finances. Money talks and if artists want the exposure to the large audiences which then leads to the big contracts, this is most likely the route they will have to go. It is sad though, to think about all the wonderful music that we have missed out on by those who could not come up with bribes needed to get their music out on the air waves.

Bibliograghy

Popular Music in America, The Beat Goes On, 4th Edition, Campbell, Michael: 2013, Published by Clark Baxter

performingsongwriter.com/alan-freed-payola-scandal/ , Alan Freed and the Payola Scandal, Lydia Hutchison, August 20, 2015

https://www.thebalancecareers.com/payola-influencing-the-charts-2460759

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Payola

Footnotes

(1)  Popular Music in America, The Beat Goes On, pg. 172

(2) Wikipedia-Payola-History

(3) Alan Freed an the Payola Scandal

(4) Alan Freed an the Payola Scandal

(5) Alan Freed an the Payola Scandal