Payola Scandal Research Paper

The Payola scandal was characterized as when a producer pays a broadcasting station to play their music. For example, let say you turn on the radio and a popular song is playing, you change the station and listen to a different radio for a while. After a few minutes, you change back to the original radio station you were listening to and the same song is playing. even in today’s. radio playing where often people feel like the radio plays the same five songs over and over. Occurring during the late 1950s, payola was not illegal however, paying commercial broadcasting stations was. It wasn’t until after the trials that payola became a misdemeanor.

Soon enough it was brought to attention that quiz shows would often cheat the game so that their popular contestants would return back. Same situation going on at the radio stations, music company would pay DJs to feature their songs more than often. When congress got a hold of this information they began investigating. With radio and broadcasting owners fearing that their company would be investigated they fired many of their DJs.

R&B would be heard by African American and referred to as “Race Music” by the European descendants. Soon enough he would begin to play R&B daily, because he felt that white kids are more attracted to the black people music and also the way the music is so easy to dance too. When news struck of the investigation, ABC asked Freed to a waiver saying that he had not accepted any payola, freed refused to sing and immediately fired from the company. Following, Alan Freed was investigated by the congress and testified saying that he had taken payola. Soon after he was arrested, pleaded guilty and blacklisted from