027-The Problem with Payola

This episode examines the Congressional hearings on payola at the end of 1959 and 1960. I explore the history of payola briefly as a major part of the radio broadcast landscape. I then compare payola to common promotional practices in the advertisement and marketing of other types of commercial products and ask why it is that people might feel that things are different when it comes to music. Is this a confusion of the parameters of music’s status as a mass art?