the first payola scandal allowed 'race music' and it's white counterpart, which later became country, to actually get played and debuted a whole new genre that officially died after the scandal, rock 'n roll. it was also tied into how ascap had a stranglehold on what got played and their refusal to accept black artists at that time, which was one of the reasons for bmi's creation. but that's another story.
anyways, i have a problem with some of the scare tactics being used, the one aboiut black radio going extinct pushed by a certain woman is distasteful to me. not as much as the current anti-choice movement using fears of black genocide/infanticide in their anti-abortion campaign, but i don't like it (the isp/telecommunications are doing the same thing for net neutrality, playing on the fears of black, latino, asian, and poor).
I think the threat is real under the current bill. Even the christian radio stations here are talking about how it would effect them (not that it being a christian radio station matters) but once you throw it out there, you pretty much have to stick by your guns IMO, else you get caught with your pants down and you can no longer be trusted. Kinda like the "crying wolf" scenario.
I do understand where you're coming from on this by your last couple of post and I agree with most of it. LDB and shadeed both brought up some good points in that the performance tax is only a tactic by the record labels to pocket MORE money and in turn put more strain on our already distressed radio broadcasting. Thats what has made me take the stand on hip hop returning to "acceptable" content rather than a bunch of fake @$$ thugs/ pimps/ drug dealers.
It was quoted that Method said something to the effect of..."let these cats get paid because instead of holding a mic they could be holding a gun to our heads" or something to that effect, that doesn't phase me because we got guns too. I mean thats about as stupid a reason as I think anybody could think of.
My stand is, if the performance tax passes in a way that it will hurt hip hop by killing radio stations, then we need to find other ways to keep what we're doing alive. If that means moving on then we need to move on. Im not gonna just sell all my gear or fold up in a corner, Im gonna keep it moving.
Since this thread and the thread "I like whats happening in hip hop" I've noticed that some cats really rely on this game alot more than I do. I do this ish for fun but at the same time, I love hip hop. I just don't rely on hip hop to put food on my table or pay any of my bills. Im not knocking those that do but that's not me personally. In fact, I like hearing you guys throw down, I like hearing you guys beats and the whole community vibe we got...thats what Im fighting for.
