Back in the golden days of yore, record labels and “independent” music promoters would often roll up to radio stations with big bags of money and/or drugs in hand, offering to exchange them for radio play for the artists they represented. The practice was so widespread that there was even a catchy term for it: payola! Well nowadays, the music industry is in shambles and, sadly, there isn’t as much loose change floating around with which to bribe D.J.’s and program directors. So now, bands are forced to break new ground and find other ethically questionable ways to ensure that people hear their music. Take, for instance, the potential scandal that was recently squashed over at the Hype Machine. They determined that certain indie bands attempted to game their system of “favoriting” artists, which they use to determine their charts, and then outed them for doing so. Yes, you read that right, kiddies — things are so hard up in the music business that bands are forced to rely on cheating just in an effort to try to get consumers to steal their music. Hilarious!
On Chart Integrity [Machine Shop/Hype Machine]
