Tu rsc LOS keys, Ameri swing many mit, d it cou a yea: It i widesp haps And t nd m but th not sp PAY n' o n drugs, them or p group ducem sRome Qy, August , 1 ,AgutU l~i r- Vy~vaiL UPN IL ic INII Payola plagues record companies By JAY SHARBUTT laws against record piracy - the to deal, that man wants money" playing the top 40 pop or rhythm formers usually get for pi AP Television Writer re-recording of pop albums and A promotion man at a major and blues records as listed in the appearances. The disc ANGELES - Disc joc- their resale at cut rates; require record company in Los Angeles popularity charts of major mu- pockets the salary differer catering to the insatiable for the first time royalty pay- says it another way: "Life styles sic publications or independent can thirst for music, still nents from jukebox owners, and have changed and drugs are "tip sheets." ONE PRACTICE that to the tune of payola, provide for an estimated $20 mil- now what booze was in the Fif- Most agreed that the "majors" involve payola to broad( music industry sources ad- lion in annual royalties from ties. It's that simple. -tp independent or network- is called "store payol lespite the fact that taking broadcasters. "Okay if a jock is into grass sowned stations, particularly in used in areas where top ld mean a $10,000 fine and The record industry's worries or coke, a promotion guy might New York and Los Angeles, are tions base the play lists r in jail.~ are shared by conglomerates do a number with him. But only virtually impossible to crack on what albums are sel s ail s that own both recording and to stay tight with him. It's not with payola, primarily because major record stores. ip osshe to s, how hroadcasting companies; among given as a bribe, as a play this of management controls stem- Store officials get fr because few people know. them are the CBS, NBC and ABC and I'll give you great grass ming from the earlier scandals. cords, which they can sel hose who promote records networks, which own 15 televi- thing. Also these are the home sta- out paying the record con sion and 38 radio stations be-t f tinvolved. In return, they nusic groups should know' tween them, "IT'S OFFERED on a person- tions for top disc jockeys - men tey aren't talking, at least al, social basis, pretty much the who .earn up to $100,000 plus, a aryreport that certain r ecificatly. PROFITABLE br o a d c a s t way you'd go have a drink with year. ionscall up. VOLA IS when you give 5'.:.. S v.a...i... "Da that in fotur or n e y, favors, girls, even your big stores and you to disc jockeys, to induce But when you come to a jock or a program director who is on have to get involved w to play particular records the take, he's not going to take one or two blows of your coke . . . he stations," saysva Los plug particular musical raddi- executive. "The s. Money was the prime in- wants something more. Drugs is a false leader. It's there, no question stores surveyed, the m sent in the late 1950s when about it. But when it comes down to dealing, that man wants money." worth." 2W0 disc inckevs were ac- ersonal jockey once. doesn't casters a." It's 40 sta- in part ling in ee re- It with- 'spanies false- records dih sta- five of u don't ith the Angeles fewer ore it's cused of accepting graft, and a congressional prohe led to the present federal law and penal- ties in 1960. The record industry was small potatoes then compared to now. A Forbes Magazine estimate says it took in a whopping $2 hillion last year in record and tape sales. The take sos fueled primarily by teen-agers and young adults who were toddlers when "payola" was a hig, new story. It's an old tale now, but with a new twist - "durola," or the use of marijuana or cocaine as an inducement to disc jockeys. But then there's the use of drugs within the music business itself. "I THINK the dirty word here is not payola," says one top re- cord company executive. "I think the dirty word here is drugs, Drugs are a serious prob- lem within the industry and I think there's been a lax attitude taken by the presidents of com- panies." The president of another ma- jor drug company disagrees: "I don't think there's any more drug use in our industry than in any other." This year, as the industry con- tinues to make millions and mu- sic, it also complains loudly about allegations that stem from a federal grand jury probe of the business. SINCE APRIL, the grand jury, meeting Newark, N.J., has been hearing testimony concerning traditional kinds of payla, drugola and the extent of moh influence in the record industry. No indictments have been re- turned yet and Justice Depart- ment sources say it may he a year before anything happens. But some record execttives fear the prohe, coupled with other of- ficial and unofficial investiga- tions and subsequent headlines could well: -Bring down a federal regula- tory hammer that would sharply limit the free-wheeling, free- spending ways now existing in the business. -JEOPARDIZE the already- shaky chances of a proposed copyright revision bill now in Congress. The measure has died in past years after heavy pres- sure from broadcasters opposing certain provisions it again con- tains this year. The provisions would tighten DAILY OFFICIAL BULLETIN The Daily Official Bulletin is an official publication of the Univer- sity of Michigan. Notices should be sent in TYPEWRITTEN FORM to 409 E. Jefferson, before 2 p.m. of the day preceding publication and by 2 p.m. Friday for Saturday and Sunday. Items appear once only. Student organization notices are not accepted for publication. For more information, phone 764-9276. A Thursday, August 23 DAY CALENODAR CEW: "What it's Like to be an Adult Woman Student," informal conversa- tion, 330 Thompson Street, 9:30-11:30 -a record company executive licenses could be affected at re- newal time if allegations of wrongdoing by companies' record divisions are proved. How widespread are drugola and payola and who is involved? Impossible to say. Music indus- try members contacted during a three - week AP survey - a - flatly refused to talk; - b - re- fused to talk in specifics, or - c - simply insisted they didn't know. Those who would talk would do so only if promised neither their names nor those of their companies would be used. Ironically, the industry that thrives on publicity, has clam- med up while the heat is on. MOST OF THOSE contacted say drugola is a minor issue; they say cash, direct or indirect, still is king, even though payola to broadcasting personnel is a federal crime. As the manager of several rock acts and singers puts it "Quite honestly, I don't think there is as much drugs given to jocks disc jockeys as all the rumors have it. 'I think that's the wrong track. I think that's a sensation- al thing that the press is get- ting into because it sells news- papers, because most people feel, 'Ah-hah, the're doing drugs.' "But when you come to a jock or a program director who is on the take, he's not going to take one or two blows of your coke . . he wants something more. Drugs is a false leader. "IT'S THERE, no question about it. But when it comes down a business contact." Drugs are part of the scene. He and other middle-level sources in the industry say the same relationship exists between rock stars who use drugs and many of the record company "artists relations" men that must deal with them. THEY SAY THE performers who use drugs - and none put marijuana smoking in the drug use category - buy the stuff themselves or get them from the "groupies" who are part of their regular entourage. They say there are infrequent occasions when performers will ask their artist relations man to buy them drugs. One former artist relations man for a major New York label says when this happens "and if the guy is open to it, he'll pick up the tab. "AND GENERALLY, the pres- ident of the company or whoever is okaying the expense account - if the artist is hitting - will go along with it. "There's a tacit understand- ing or agreement, of, 'okay, that's what you did. Just don't go crazy with it.' And there are cases where a company presi- dent either honestly doesn't know what his men are doing or sim- ply doesn't want to know." But drugs are rarely an in- ducement to hire or keep top pop talent, he said. They want, mon- ey, not drugs. MOST AGREED that the main targets of any company's promo- tional push - legitimate and otherwise - are the stations Most payola efforts, they say, center on stations surrounding major metropolitan areas. The idea is to get heavy air play on those stations, hoping the record sill "break out" and hit the charts. THEY SAY payola takes a va- riety of forms other than outright cash. It includes airline tickets that can be cashed in; credit cards given deejays or program directors with the understand- ing they'll be returned within a given time and free trips to re- gional and national conventions with all expenses paid including the services of prostitutes. Some companies give free re- cord albums - figures range from SO to 500 and up-which the recipients resell to record stores at cut rates of $1 or $2 each and pocket the proceeds. Another dodge, sources say, is for a disc jockey to organize a pop music, concert A record company supplies its stars at prices well below what the per- IF A RECORD shows up strongly in a high volume store and doesn't get mentioned in the littte neighorhood stores, you know the record companies are doing a number in the high volume stores." Be careful with fire: There are babes in the woods. FOD is our Specialty OPEN 4-10 P.M. 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