The 2005 Radio Scandal Was a Glorious Mess

A little-remembered scandal back in ’04-’05 gave a revealing and hilarious look into music industry corruption. Dozens of popular bands, from Pearl Jam to Norah Jones, relied on a playbook of unscrupulous tactics in order to get their songs played on the radio. “Gifted“ playstations, six-figure payola schemes, hiring college kids to make phony song requests: These were among the tricks employed just to stay on the Billboard chart an extra week. The 2005 radio payola scandal is a disturbing reminder how much the mainstream music market was, and continues to be, fixed. It’s also, in retrospect, really, really entertaining. Animated by PartyKaleta: More videos, cool music stories and lesser-known bands on Patreon: (It’s just $2 -- go for it!) Songs heard in this video: 0:00 NoMBe - Zodiac Structures 0:10 Baha Men - Who Let The Dogs Out 0:18 Baha Men - Move It Like This 0:57 Pat Green - Guy Like Me 1:02 Audioslave - Light My Way 1:10 Norah Jones - Don’t Know Why 1:18 311 - Lovesong 1:24 Silent Partner - Heated Seat 1:58 Linkin Park - Points of Authority 2:33 The Mini Vandals - The Shepherd 3:05 Silent Parker - Smoke 4:40 Kevin Macleod - Bass Walker 6:37 Toby Lightman - Devils and Angels 6:56 Jewel - You Were Meant For Me 7:10 Kwon - Beatbox Lighter 7:58 Franz Ferdinand - Take Me Out 8:15 Pillar - Bring Me Down 8:20 Dream - Crazy 8:50 Blur - Crazy Beat 9:05 Pearl Jam - Get Right 10:48 Gorillaz - 19-2000 10:55 Skye Sweetman - Tangled Up In Me 11:06 New Found Glory - My Friends Over You 11:21 . - Maybe 11:34 Good Charlotte - Young and Hopeless 12:46 DMX - Where The Hood At 13:23 Ashanti - Rain On Me 13:28 Norah Jones - Don’t Know Why 13:32 Ludacris - Stand Up 13:37 Brie Larson - She Said 14:38 Evelyn Thomas - High Energy 14:52 Get Set Go - Break Your Heart 16:28 The Who - Baba O’Reilly (Live at 9/11 Memorial Concert) 17:25 Engine Summer - The Sticks