Brian Temba: Music moguls are killing our industry with payola

R&B crooner Brian Temba has lashed out at music moguls, accusing them of destroying the local music industry by bribing radio stations to play their music.

The SAMA award-winning musician released a new album last month, entitled UnABC and has been working hard to promote it.

Although the initial single, Lost Without You, got a good amount of radio airplay and charted at number one on Gagasi FM, his two follow-up singles from the album have received very little coverage.

His management told TshisaLIVE that they were concerned and suspect that something sinister might have been at work.

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"It is not because of a lack of promotion. We have tried but albums that were released around the same time are receiving radio play while Brian's latest singles are not, " Brian's manager Motlatsi "Moz" Motseoile added.

Brian was a little more direct in his response to the perceived snub, accusing music bosses of ruining the industry by illegally paying for music to be playlisted - a practice commonly known as payola.

"I get scared sometimes because of this industry of music. You have music moguls killing our industry by paying to be playlisted on high rotation and sometime real music gets overshadowed by bubblegum music," Brian said in a heartfelt Facebook post on Monday.

He said that he had reflected on his music and fan's response to his new album and was proud of his achievements, but was a little disheartened.

"Music fortunately doesn't allow me to quit, but if I was weak, I would quit," he added.

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SABC spokesperson Kaizer Kganyago told TshisaLIVE that the broadcaster took accusations of payola seriously and was committed to ensuring that the practice did not take place at the station.

He further added that playlists were decided by each station according to what they felt was appropriate for their audience.

"Each song has to be submitted to a station for consideration. A committee will then look at a number of factors, including whether the song is any good and whether it fits in the target market of the station. If your music fits the criteria, it will be playlisted," Kaizer said.