Stations to monitor producer disc jocks - Broadcasting Commission will not restrict on-air talent

Mel Cooke, Gleaner Writer

With the deluge of songs produced in Jamaica proportionately far outweighing the available airtime and many a radio disc jock also investing heavily in music production - or even performance - Broadcasting Commission executive director Cordel Green has said maintaining a balance will be left up to the respective radio station's management.

He readily states, though, that "there is a concern". It is so much of an issue that Green says "Incidentally, it is the other thing that the music industry has raised with the Broadcasting Commission as a concern." The primary concern is payola, the undisclosed payment in cash or kind for a song or music video being played in the electronic media. "That has been consistent with the arguments around payola," Green said. "Sometimes linked, sometimes delinked. But they argue that the two things are bad for the music industry."

Public conflict

While quite a few disc jocks are currently involved in the production and performance of music, among them ZIP FM's ZJ Liquid and ZJ Bambino, who does parodies of popular songs as Trevor Off-Key, a rare incident of public conflict between a disc jock and an artiste was reported in The Star on July 3.

After DJ Amber of IRIE FM told the publication that she was pregnant for high-riding artiste I-Octane, he told The Star: "She seh she invest in the brand so she entitled to whatever come from it. When me tell har it nah go continue, a deh so all di bad things start. She seh she a go make de brand demolish but me never really pay it no mind 'cause mi have other things fi deal wid."

However, while the Broadcasting Commission has recommended progressive stages of fines on individuals for payola, starting at $5 million for the first offence and going up to $15 million for the third, there is no intention to constrict individual broadcasters who are also involved in song production.

"We have thought about this very carefully as a broadcasting commission, and the existing position of the commission is that there is a real concern about conflict of interest, but we do not believe at this stage that it is necessary or possibly judicious, prudent, fair, sensible to say that because he has the talent for writing lyrics, or for creating melodies, or even to sing, that by virtue of being on radio that talent has to be shelved," Green said.

"The approach we have taken to this thing, and we hope it works - if it doesn't then we have to come back to the matter - is that the management of radio stations must be responsible for the treatment of - let's call it for the time being connected content - that there must be first of all a declaration of connected content," Green said.

While the size of the recommended fines for payola has piqued public interest, Green points out that the Broadcasting Commission's recommendation to the Government has two limbs. "You have the limb dealing with payola and you have another limb which deals with connected content, which says that the law must require first of all a disclosure of connection to content and, secondly, that the station is under a legal obligation, when that disclosure is made, to take responsibility for the treatment of that content," Green said.

With that disclosure would come the control.

Financial penalty

"So you cannot be on the air, be connected with a song on whatever form and determine what rotation that song gets, which deejay you're going to give it to and influence them to play it, because this deejay is your brethren and then him give you his and you play it on your thing. Or when you play it on your show and how much of what you have a connection with you play on your show. The station's management must first of all determine whether that song merits rotation and, secondly, if it is to be rotated, how it is to be treated.

"We think that is a common-sense way to deal with the matter," Green said.

It turns out that there is a potential financial penalty involved, although this time it would be levied against the station, unlike the individual application of the fines for payola. And a familiar sum is introduced.

"Incidentally, our recommendation is that a failure on the part of a station to comply with those provisions ought to attract a fine of up to $5 million."