Latin Beat Magazine: From the editor

During a recent visit to New York City I was confronted by several musicians who are extremely bitter and frustrated with the ongoing state of "payola" practices by many of the commercial radio stations in the city that cater to Latino music. By no means a new problem, payola is alive and well in commercial radio worldwide and is only part of the collective virus undermining the Latin music industry. Since the early days of radio, program directors and radio DJs have been charging labels and artists to get their songs played on the air. Unfortunately, many of the major record labels went along with this unethical practice in order to guarantee them daily radio slots on which to position their artists and thereby saturate the airwaves with just the chosen few. The bottom line has always been, those who pay get the airplay.

In the 1970s, the FCC cracked down on many of the radio stations conducting payola, somewhat cleaning the system up, but as for the Latin radio stations, not much changed then or now. At a time in which the entire music industry is restructuring itself simply to survive in today's unpredictable economy, payola is yet another hurdle that must be overcome, such as piracy, illegal downloading of music and the abandoning of many artists and musical genres (such as salsa) by the major record labels. It's a very difficult time for independent artists to stay afloat in this industry. With no support from the major labels, and no airplay unless they pay, independent artists are left to the mercy of public radio and to publications like ourselves, which are not commercially affiliated with the industry mongers. Personally, I do not listen to or follow any of the commercial Latin radio stations or their hit parade charts, since they are mostly biased and therefore bogus.

As far as Latin Beat Magazine is concerned, the major record labels abandoned us many years ago once they realized they could not control our editorial contents. However, we have been surviving throughout the years thanks to the support of a few smaller independent record labels and distributors, self-produced artists and bands, instrument makers, and the subscriptions and newsstand sales from readers like you. It has not been easy but we take pride in knowing we still own our own souls. So when it comes to payola, our feeling is, just like with drugs, just say no. The more people that refuse to pay to get airplay the easier it will be to combat this problem. It's better to send new productions to public radio stations nationwide to get airplay. It's a free service with abundant possibilities. In Los Angeles, California there is not one commercial Latin radio station supporting salsa music, yet through the services of public radio stations such as KXLU, KCRW, KPFK and KKJZ, among others, we enjoy some of the best salsa and Latin jazz music heard anywhere in the world.

On a happier note, in this issue Volume 15, Number 4 May 2005 of Latin Beat Magazine we feature the magic of the 7th Annual West Coast Salsa Congress, "The Greatest Salsa Show on Earth" to be held May 26-29, 2005 at the Hollywood Park Casino in Los Angeles, California. Also the new FM source for Latin music "Public Radio Stations," complete with a partial listing of some of the top stations from coast to coast and Puerto Rico. From the pen of Frank M. Figueroa, the article "No Strings Attached," a look at the string instruments from Puerto Rico. And as always, lots more musical information, reviews, art and news.