Label Pays Real Money for ‘Counterfeit’ Airing

On music radio, the distinction between the songs being programmed and the ads the station runs has generally been clear--until now.

“Counterfeit,” a song by the hard-edged band Limp Bizkit, has recently been airing on KUFO-FM (101.1) in Portland, Ore.--in exchange for payments by Interscope Records, the band’s label.

This is believed to be the first instance of a paid-for song being played alongside other songs on the regular playlist. The only way to tell that it isn’t chosen by the programmers for regular play is the announcement--required by the FCC--before or after the song noting the paid-for status.

But Limp Bizkit’s manager says that there’s always been “pay-to-play”--in the form of promotional tie-ins, record company-sponsored contests and special appearances at radio station events and concerts. This method, he says, is more up-front and cheaper.

“Radio stations say, ‘If you play our show, then we’ll play your record,’ ” says Jeff Kwatinetz, citing a familiar practice. “I prefer the direct route.”

To him, this is simply a chance for a band that has built a strong live following but has had trouble getting airplay to prove that there is a radio audience for it.

KUFO operations manager Dave Numme also believes that the results are more direct. “It’s a very straightforward way [for record companies] to say, ‘We’re going to commit to the station on this project,’ ” he says. “You get clear-cut commitment on both sides.”

Tom Barnes, an Atlanta-based programming consultant who helped engineer the arrangement, sees this practice growing in the near future.

“There is so much more music out there now and the competition is so incredibly stiff,” he says. “And with the consolidation of radio ownership and the narrowing of target demographics for individual stations, this is one of the few ways for new artists to get on the air.”

Others, though, are taking a wait-and-see attitude.

“How much credibility does an artist have if it’s paid for?” says Stu Cohen, Warner Bros. Records senior vice president and director of promotions. “And what does an influential station like KROQ, for example, mean if it takes money for playing songs?”

For the record, KROQ assistant program director Gene Sandbloom says that the possibility hasn’t even been discussed at the station. And programming consultant Jeff Pollack finds programmers around the country overwhelmingly opposed to the concept.

“If people trust and rely on a station to put music on the air . . . and you violate that trust, then your credibility goes down the drain,” Pollack says.