‘Take Me Out’: The 2000s indie classic beset by a payola scandal
As Oasis trounced across the globe this past year, with their truly seismic reunion show that was sold out at extortionate costs, I couldn’t help but wonder at what point they became the global band they are now.
Because sure, while they were Britain’s biggest band in the 1990s, shaping the vernacular of everyday culture, and selling out shows a quarter of a million at a time, they didn’t necessarily “break America” in the traditional sense. Their popularity was steeped in colloquial nuance, and ultimately, that was the precedent set for much of British music in recent years. It wasn’t until the globalisation of art and culture through the internet that things began to change.
It was very much the same story for the 2000s era of ‘indie sleaze’. The alternative music of that time was almost custom-made for a British audience, and so many of the bands that topped the charts on this side of the pond lived in relative obscurity on the other. Of course, there were some parallels that existed between the bands whereby The Strokes influenced Arctic Monkeys and vice versa, there was still a disconnect between British music and American fans.
This was during an era where the radio still ruled the roost in terms of musical exposure, and so, like any good success story, the way to combat the meagre appetite for British music was, of course, corruption. So when Franz Ferdinand were experiencing a sort of lightning-in-a-bottle success with their seminal indie hit ‘Take Me Out’, they would become the perfect British guinea pig upon which this method could be tested.
Their song was one of many that was embroiled in Sony music’s payola scheme, whereby radio DJs were being financially ‘incentivised’ by the label to play the song on air, which was subsequently illegal after a 1960 federal law was passed, barring record companies from offering undisclosed financial incentives in exchange for airplay – a practice later called ‘payola’, a contraction of ‘pay’ and ‘Victrola’, the old windup record player.
This pay can take several forms, from an outright wiring of cash to financing elaborate radio station giveaways to simply paying for outlandish holidays for anyone involved. In the case of Franz Ferdinand’s ‘Take Me Out’, it was the latter. The promotion department of Sony BMG label Epic Records paid for an extravagant trip to Miami for a Buffalo DJ and three friends, so long as he added a song to their playlist.
The scandal resulted in Sony having to pay $10million in damages, which was distributed to nonprofit entities and earmarked for music education programs, according to Eliot Spitzer, the New York Attorney who led the charge.
Ultimately, it was a bold step forward for music reform and putting artistry at the very forefront of the priorities. Sadly, this was in 2005, way before we entered the realms of digital and music dystopia where the streaming platforms, supposedly designed to continue helping level the playing field have now warped reality even further. Now, radio DJs no longer hold the same power, bands are neglected from any profit altogether, and the idea that music should be the main focus has been completely lost.
