If radio stations are said to "rely" on hot artist driven music to increase the value of their airtime for advertisers, then why are there still problems with payola? I understand that all artists are not top dollar attractions (ok, most aren't) but to pay for the popular artists to be showcased on the radio stations does not compute. These artists subsidize the many, per record label, ok. But why not package the rights of varying level artists works as a whole to the stations and, as an industry, have these radio stations "pay to play." Yes, this is a total restructuring of the marketing, promotion, and distribution of the business, but with new technologies comes new business practices. Free downloading, and piracy, is killing the possibilities of the record labels staying afloat. The product, as we've learned, is the music and not the formatted disc it's sold on. Stop selling the copy able discs as the baseline product, and sell the works that are on them as the product. The begging of the record label for airplay has to stop for there industry to survive. I propose a unified record label "agreement" along with the reversing of who is paying whom. Radio should be playing, and paying for the products they receive. To continue the promotion of the lesser known, packaging of artists work together means that the stations would have to buy the rights to lesser known works as well as, the "needed" popular personalities. I know this would come with a fight from one side, but the back of the other side in already against the wall.
On a side note, I've never encountered a "spoof" of a song, but do admire the thought into the idea. To fight the illegal downloading of a work with a commercial for the song, while also promoting the personalities of the wanted band? Genius, pure genius. Spoofs cut the convenience, and ease out of downloading, and advertise the artists. Discouraging piracy with a commercial preview of the exact target consumer. Wow! Point, spoofers.