Gus the hacker puppeteer writes, "Many of us hoped the Internet would disrupt the music industry along with all other media industries, giving more power — and more pay — to musicians and songwriters. And yet, somehow the amount musicians get paid each time their songs stream is a tiny fraction of a cent."
"The anti-corporate messages of punk and hip-hop feel as relevant today as in the 70s, 80s, and 90s. The corporate monoculture in AM/FM radio is obvious, even if people can't explain what's going on: when we did a search for "why does radio," autocomplete finished the sentence "play the same songs over and over?" Clearly people are wondering what the heck is up with the radio. But who can give the world the inside scoop on how the music industry works?
"Portia Sabin — president of the venerable punk label Kill Rock Stars, and former board member of the American Association of Independent Music — graciously agreed to be interviewed by our punk puppet Weena about how radio program directors and record label guys team up to ensure that their songs get played in heavy rotation. She explains how payola and advertising money combine to ensure radio stations play songs engineered to keep listeners tuning in. Portia gave us so much great information that we turned it into not one, but three episodes, plus an animated infographic on media monopoly. So stick around for the full playlist! And share it with anyone you know who may be teaching a unit on media literacy."
Why does the radio play the same songs over and over?
[The Media Show]
