Behind the music: The politics of the playlist. The internet has been revolutionary in providing a platform for unsigned and niche artists.
Though some people have declared this the demise of radio, judging by the sales charts, it seems getting playlisted on national radio is still incredibly important in reaching the biggest possible audience. The playlist is the guide to what songs a radio station will play at any given time. I wanted to find out exactly who decides what songs get on there and how they reach that decision, so I chatted to George Ergatoudis, the head of music at Radio 1, arguably home to the most powerful playlist of them all. I began by asking him what he would say to people who accuse Radio 1 of catering to major labels.
"That's absolutely not true," says Ergatoudis. How often does that music break into the regular playlist? "All the time. So how do you decide who gets on it? "As head of music, I obviously carry the cap, in particular when it comes to mainstream music. How many slots for new music are there per week? The record industry needs to sort out radio playlist confusion. The policy of the playlist – or rather how, exactly, a single gets on it – has always been a hot topic for the record industry.
Although the internet gives the public unprecedented access to music, getting playlisted on the radio is still the key way to gain exposure to a wider audience, and sell records, in the UK. In the US, payola – the illegal practice of paying or in any other way bribing a radio station to play your song – has existed since the advent of pop music. The widespread use of payola in the 70s and 80s was described in detail in the book Hit Men, and as recently as 2005-06 three of the major labels were indicted and settled out of court for pay-for-play practices.
Although no such lawsuits have been launched in the UK, there have been plenty of accusations of conflict of interest when it comes to those who decide what gets played on the radio. Capital Radio is now owned by Global Radio, which also owns Heart, Xfm and Gold, making it a group with 20 million listeners. Cadbury's Gorilla Advert Aug 31st 2007.
Celine Dion My Heart Will Go On. New Balance 'Happy Feet' 30' TV campaign. Live Ford Super Sunday 2011/12 Intro. Behind the music: What do record labels actually do? You'd be surprised. In the thread beneath one of my most recent articles about the 2012 report on digital music from the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry, StevieBee123 asked: "Sorry – what exactly do we need record companies for again?
" LawlessGreed replied with a question of his own: "If there is no music industry, how are musicians supposed to earn a living from their work? " to which malcolm replied: "Try, ehhh, selling direct to the pubic … no brainer! " That discussion, as well as one I had on Twitter has highlighted a certain confusion regarding what today's record labels actually do. It's true the internet has been brilliant for artists in many ways, giving them an alternative route to make contact with and sell directly to fans, but record labels do much more than distribute to retailers. There's also something to say for local expertise. It's also simplistic to say majors are evil while indies are good. So, what about those artists who complain about the labels?