I’ve Shelved Four Albums Because Of Payola – Ben Brako

Veteran highlife musician Ben Brako has disclosed that he has about albums that have not been publicized due to ‘payola’ demands by some DJ’s and presenters.

‘Payola’, in the music industry, is the illegal practice of payment or other inducement by record companies for the broadcast of recordings on commercial radio in which the song is presented as being part of the normal day’s broadcast, without announcing this prior to broadcast.

The number of times the songs are played can influence the perceived popularity of a song.

Speaking Wednesday, March 14, 2018, on The Zone on Starr103.5FM with KOD, Brako whose first record was released in 1985, said: “I have done so many albums but I don’t even push them.”

Brako who gained popularity from his second album ‘Baya’ added “I don’t even push them because I can’t [see myself paying payola]. They form cliques and when you are not in with one of the members of the clique, all the other guys just shun you…It is terrible.”

Source: Starrfmonline