Editing Payola (section)

==Criticism of U.S. laws==
The FCC and the Communications Act of 1934<ref name="FCCpayolarules">{{Cite web|url=https://www.fcc.gov/consumers/guides/fccs-payola-rules|title=Sponsorship Identification Rules|date=24 May 2011|website=Federal Communications Commission}}</ref> both have strict requirements and rules regarding payola. These demand that:{{blockquote|employees of broadcast stations, program producers, program suppliers and others who, in exchange for airing material, have accepted or agreed to receive payments, services or other valuable consideration must disclose this fact. Disclosure of compensation provides broadcasters the information they need to let their audiences know if the material was paid for, and by whom.<ref name="FCCpayolarules"/>}}

Even with these requirements in place, however, record companies have found loopholes within the phrasing of the regulations to continue the practice.{{cn|date=November 2024}} These loopholes have created a situation which isolates independent artists from mainstream media.{{cn|date=November 2024}} A current example of this is the lengths that artists [[Macklemore and Ryan Lewis]] went to get their music heard. Because Lewis and Macklemore belonged to an independent label, they feared payola laws would interfere with their airtime.{{clarify-inline|date=November 2024}} So they hired an independent arm of Warner Music Group, the [[Alternative Distribution Alliance]], which assists independent acts to get their music on radio. Zach Quillen, manager of Macklemore and Ryan Lewis, discussed how "they paid the alliance a flat monthly fee to help promote the album."<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://blogs.wsj.com/speakeasy/2014/01/28/how-macklemore-tapped-major-label-muscle-to-market-an-indie-album/|title=How Macklemore Tapped Major Label Muscle to Market an Indie Album|first=Megan|last=Buerger|newspaper=Wall Street Journal|date=28 January 2014}}</ref>

One side effect of the vagueness of the law{{cn|date=November 2024}} and the creation of the loophole{{cn|date=November 2024}} is the expansion of the concept at the hands of online music sharing websites. In 2009, the website [[Jango (website)|Jango]] created a plan to accept promotion fees legally by disclosing that they are paid to play the songs. "For as little as $30, a band can buy 1,000 plays on the music-streaming service, slotted in between established artists. The artists themselves choose what other music they'd like to be played next to."<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.theguardian.com/music/musicblog/2009/apr/16/payola-internet-radio|title=Payola: Once a dirty word, now the basis of internet radio|work=The Guardian|date=16 April 2009}}</ref>