Payola: Media’s open secret

Ivy Manat of Ballyhoo Records

By Remedios V. Lucio

Having been around for quite some time now, Payola is an ongoing practice in media. So what is Payola? According to history-of-rock website, Payola comes from the words “pay” and “Victrola” (an LP record player), and entered the English language via the record business. Payola is defined as the illegal practice of record companies paying radio stations and disc jockeys to play particular songs in their stations.

According to Ernie Dela Cruz, who used to work under the Advertisement/Promotion Department of Vicor Recording Company, “Some radio stations receive payola with the station manager, some would go individually (straight to the DJs). Recording companies give out payola as part of promotions of songs. Binibigyan nila ng plugging list (titles of songs) yoong mga announcers na tumatangap ng payola para yoon lang yoong patugtugin nilang kanta.”

Payola comes in different forms. It usually comes in forms of cash or “good time treats”. Good time treats referring to free passes to hotels, restaurants, dinners, dinners, events etc. Even guns are given for protection. The lowest rate of payment one receives for a write-up is 20,000 or 30,000. It depends on the company a media practitioner works for. The amount goes higher if you are a big time reporter.

In the US, Payola goes back as early as the 1920’s. It became more apparent in the 1950’s with the emergence of rock 'n' roll, the introduction of the inexpensive 45 RPM single, radio's shift to Top 40 music once TV commandeered drama, postwar prosperity, and the arrival of teenagers as an economic force. In this period, live performances were taken over by records. The easiest way for artists to gain exposure and sell their records, the labels needed to distinguish their songs from their competitors. Bribery seemed the best way to go thus record companies hired promoters to pay deejays particular amounts to play their records.

One example of Payola done in the US is when in January 1998, Flip/Interscope Records paid a Portland, Oregon radio station $5,000 to play one Limp Bizkit song 50 times over a five-week period. The band was able to generate enough interest to play a successful concert there. Other stations showed interest in their music, and Limp Bizkit broke into the music biz in a big way. However, the argument against pay-for-play, even if the parties are upfront about it, is that it allows big labels to buy their artists’ way onto the charts.

Payola is usually use either for a good purpose or a bad purpose. Either you write a negative or a positive feature on a particular person. It is for either for good publicity or bad publicity. It takes in many forms—apart from promoting songs, it is also done involving writers, editors and reporters to publish particular stories.

It is also done by the government as well. “Yoong mga commentaries, news programs, may mga politicians and government agencies ang nagbibigay para hindi sila siraan sa publiko,” says Dela Cruz.

For Ivy Manat of Ballyhoo Records, she carefully chooses which to receive. “Personally, if you will give me a certain amount, tapos sisiraan ko lang yung iba, di ko gagawin yun. Pero pag binayaran mo ko ng malaking amount pababanguhin kita, gagawin ko yun kasi still positive.” Furthermore she adds, “Sa akin, ok lang na tumanggap ng payola. If I’m a writer or I’m a journalist, it’s ok na tumanggap ako pero as long as hindi ko sisirain yung tao. Kung i-buibuild-up ko siya ok lang, so kung naiinggit yung kabilang partido, magpabuild-up na din sya. At least hindi kita ida-down. Hindi ko sya titirahin pababa.” She herself has confessed to have done receiving Payolas but only to write good publicity on someone.

In some cases, there are some journalists who will continue to do bad write ups about certain people unless they are given money or “good time treats” in exchange. “May mga ibang journalists na sisiraan ka nila ng sisiraan hangga’t hindi ka nagbibigay. Tapos after mo magbigay mabait na siya sa iyo. Ireretrack niya yung mga sinulat nya and babawiin so nawala na yoong credibility mo. And magugulat yung boss mo bakit ganoon and palalabasin na lang niya may nakameeting siya na nagsabing hindi naman pala talaga sya ganun,” says Manat.

As long as there are people who give out money, there will be people who will continue receiving them. Most media people practices Payola but there are still a few out there who don’t do this kind of practice—those who stick to the ethical side of their careers. When asked if there’s a possibility for Payola to be eradicated from the industry, “No. The saddest part of it [is that] it will be worse, and it will stay forever. Media has lost [its] credibility because of this,” says Dela Cruz.

Porcelain painter, Maria Nellie Bautista

By Remedios Lucio

An artist who hungers to paint, Maria Nellie Bautista, joined the Philippine Artist Group (PAG) four years ago in Canada. Through an exhibition in Toronto, she contacted PAG and asked them if she can join their group. Her Peony painting in watercolor became her ticket in becoming a member of PAG.

She was invited by Jun Liamante and Romy Mananquil, both members of PAG, to join their on the spot painting in a park in Canada. She met other members of the group. She brought her porcelain painting there and showed it to them. They loved her painting.

Her Peony painting was put up in their PAG website. From there, she was asked by Mananquil to join their group and thus became the secretary of PAG soon afterwards.

Since she was a kid, she loves to draw and paint. It was not supported by her parents because they did not have any money at that time to support such craft. It was only when she turned 50 when she decided to revive her long loved craft of drawing and painting. For two years, Bautista has been studying and continuously painting in Canada.

Bautista says her style doesn't have any limitations in art. She loves to do anything. “I'm really hungry to paint,” she says. By the time she was able to take art courses, she paints everything. “Anything that I should paint, I paint,” she says. Bautista paints traditional paintings, figures, landscapes, Chinese brush paintings, porcelains, etc. She uses different forms of medium such as pastel, oil, acrylic and watercolor.

They say she is most outstanding in painting landscapes but her colleagues, advised her to concentrate in porcelain painting.

Her collections were mostly done in Toronto, Canada, where she is currently residing with her husband. Her inspiration for her artworks is the four seasons of weather there. She loves to paint nature. She has many winter paintings. In summer, they usually go to lakes and outside the city where she is inspired to paint landscapes and flowers. In springtime, she painted the Peony at the back of her garden. The fall season is amongst her favorite because of the colors. The four seasons usually gives her vast creativity in her collections. Bautista also loves to paint by her imagination.

“When I feel about my painting, I feel I'm in a different world,” says Bautista.

Upon reading Van Gogh's life, she was touched by his story. She says if she is given a chance to paint any works of Van Gogh, she will paint the Cherry Blossoms in Japan and dedicate it to him.

In 2004, PAG held their first exhibition in Art Space, Glorietta in Makati, which was organized by Atty. Abesamis, a famous lawyer in Toronto who was establishing his Philippine Canadian foundation that time.

She aspires to paint portraits and paint more landscapes, still life, and Chinese brush paintings. She also dreams of sketching Imelda Marcos, who is an avid supporter of art.

Most of her paintings are in the Philippines. She plans to paint more once she gets back to Canada.

Currently, she is also preparing herself in a solo exhibition in 2010. Once this happens, she aspires to have her own workshops in the Philippines and in Canada to teach other aspiring painters who want to pursue their craft.

Women rantings on men's annoying traits

By Remedios Lucio

You are out with your buddies on a Friday night, you noticed a group of  good looking women hanging out together across the room of a restaurant chattering the night away.  But wait, they are haplessly talking about you—no, not just you per se but men in general.

It turns into a rant session and how hard it is to find a good man for her or even a good date.  Then it turns into a full-on rag session on men in general.  They start ticking off their fingers with traits that makes men difficult.

Every human being has pride but men have major egos, sometimes egos bigger than craters of the moon.  Protection of their egos is so important to them that sometimes they don’t even notice how they are already hurting people around them.  What is even worse is arrogance.  They think their hot stuff and they can get any woman they want instantly.

Then there’s the silent demeanor when asked what is wrong or even worse averting their gaze elsewhere and changing the topic as fast as lightning.  Why don’t they just say it? Men don’t say what they are thinking in order to not hurt women’s feelings.  While the women keep on pressing for details (and we’re branded as naggers).

There are some men who are commitment-phobic.  They either just want a hook-up or they are not prepared for the responsibilities that come along with commitments.

Then there’s the Houdini act.  They do the disappearing act probably even better than Houdini himself.  This leaves women with multiple questions battling in her head and even, yes, stumps them.  This includes leaving women hanging.

Imagine competing with a man who does more beauty rituals than you? There are some men who are vainer than their girlfriends.  Metrosexual they say, right Tim Yap?  Some men can’t read between the lines.  You know how women are, enough said.

When it comes to kidding around, there are some men who doesn’t know when to stop.  The raise eyebrows shoot by annoyed women doesn’t scare them from shutting their loud mouths.  There are men who can’t decide for themselves and that is a major turn-off.  Indiscriminately burping and farting is just disgusting.  Fart sessions, anyone?

Men love beer and they love drinking especially after a long, stressful day at work.  What could be even better than drinking cold Red Horse and eating Sisig on hot plates?  But doing this so often irritates women.

Book Review: Kafka on the Shore by Haruki Murakami

By Remedios V. Lucio

“On my fifteenth birthday, I'll run away from home, journey to a far-off town, and live in a corner of a small library. It sounds a little like a fairy tale. But it's no fairy tale, believe me,” says Kafka Tamura.

Haruki Murakami’s novel, Kafka on the Shore, is about the intertwined lives of 15-year old boy named Kafka Tamura and an aging simpleton, Satoru Nakata, who never recovered from a wartime affliction and who has the ability to talk to cats.

The journey begins with Tamura leaving his father, a renowned sculptor, in Tokyo.  An omen was laid upon him by his own father—his destiny to murder him and sleep with his own mother and sister.  His own mother and sister abandoned him when he was only five years old, leaving him with no imprints of how they look like.

With only a backpack full of clothes, walkman and his memories full of child resentment, he left Tokyo and headed to Takamatsu.  He was taken under the wing of Oshima, who works in the library and Miss Saeki, the owner of the library.

There he lingers between the library and frequently visits a cabin in this mystical woods far from the hustles and bustles of the city he was once used to.

Nakata, on the other hand, is unfortunately an old man who was left with a learning inability because of bizarre childhood accident.  He cannot read nor write and thus relies on a sub city to survive living in the city.  He begins his adventure with a young truck driver named, Hoshino.

Murakami mesmerizes his readers with a wonderful story of a boy finding himself in his own way.  Memory serving as the way to truly understanding the circumstances he is in and most importantly strengthening his character.

He uses western characters such as Colonel Sanders and Johnnie Walker in this novel. Murakami also embraces his readers in a world where the absurd happens—cats talk, fish falls from the sky, and spirits slip out of their bodies to make love or commit murder.

Invisible Human Papillomavirus

By Remedios V. Lucio

A romantic summer evening in Tagaytay with your special someone or a hot summer hook up in Puerto Galera with an uber-cute charming guy.  The possibilities are endless, not just for a relationship but….also sex.

Wait, are they both a boy scout and a girl scout when it comes to having sex?  Condoms, check. What about pills? Check.  Well then good for both of them because newsflash, there is such thing called as the Human Papillomavirus (HPV).

According to Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDCP) website, “HPV is the most common sexually transmitted infection (STI). The virus infects the skin and mucous membranes. There are more than 40 HPV types that can infect the genital areas of men and women, including the skin of the penis, vulva (area outside the vagina), and anus, and the linings of the vagina, cervix, and rectum.”

The scary thing with HPV is you don’t even know you have it already.  It is passed on through sexual intercourse, whether it’s vaginal or anal.

While HPV types are considered as “low-risk” or “high risk”, nonetheless protection is a must.  HPV can cause genital warts (low-risk) and worse, cervical cancer.  It also causes cancers of the vulva, vagina, anus and penis.

“Very rarely, a pregnant woman with genital HPV can pass HPV to her baby during vaginal delivery. In these cases, the child may develop warts in the throat or voice box--a condition called recurrent respiratory papillomatosis (RRP),” says CDCP website.

Today, there is a vaccine that protects women from HPV.  It is best recommended for 11 and 12 year-old girls as well as ages 13 to 26 girls and women, who has not been vaccinated and completed the vaccine series.

For genital warts, it is detected by visual inspection. It can be cured by patients themselves with applied medications or by treatments by a health care provider.

There are several tests done to detect cervical cancer by undergoing a routine of “cervical cancer screening and follow-up of abnormal results. The Pap test can identify abnormal or pre-cancerous changes in the cervix so that they can be removed before cancer develops. An HPV DNA test, which can find high-risk HPV on a woman’s cervix, may also be used with a Pap test in certain cases.”  Cervical cancer can be cured if diagnosed and treated early.  There are various forms of surgeries; radiation therapy and chemotherapy are available today.

RASP continues its distinct genre in the local band scene

By Remedios V. Lucio

12 midnight, droplets of rain started falling silently from the cloudy night sky.  We arrived at the Bonifacio High Streets, rushing to get inside MAG:NET to take shelter under their building and, of course, to watch Radioactive Sago Project (RASP) rock the house.  It was the first time I held an interview in the wee hours of the morning.

As we entered the small, crowded four-walled white structured room of MAG:NET, my eardrums started to get magnetized and my body got drawn in by the wafting music coming from inside.  Taken by Cars was already playing.

According to Lourd De Veyra, they were the last act that night and so with our energy level wavering from high to low, we anxiously waited on our toes for them to finish rocking the house—or the four-walled white structure room of MAG:NET rather.  

So we enjoyed the music of the other bands while we drink our San Mig Lights—yes the other perk of having to pay P150 to watch them play.  At last, 30 minutes after 12am, Lourd was found downstairs talking to several girls outside MAG:NET.  So bravely, I suck more air into my lungs and approached him.

He exudes this confidence within.  I must say he is a people person.  Probably because of the witty jokes he cracks here and there and no fear of saying what he wants to say.  Thus another one of those real people in our society that is lacking these days. 

With three albums under its belt—self-titled Radioactive Sago Project (2002), Urban Gulaman (2004), TIMANSMFKP* Tanginamo Andaming Nagugutom sa Mundo Fashionista Ka Pa Rin (2007)—RASP continues releasing great music since they began their band in 1998.

They started with only a few members—people from the UP College of Music.  Lourd de Veyra (vocalist) said it all began when he was promoting his first book collection of poems in 1998.

From a few members, the group expanded and now composes of  Lourd de Veyra (vocalist), Francis de Veyra (bass), Arwin Nava (percussions), Pards Tupas (trombone), Wowie Anzano (trumpet), Rastem Eugenio (saxophone), Ryan Zapanta (saxophone) Junji Lerma (guitars), and Jay Gapasin (drums)

“We hit the art circle, [mga] gallery, Indie film fests, poetry recitation with jazz. [Doon] [nagsimula],” says Lourd, “From there it went all downhill” (of course, he was kidding us).

Their style expanded and from there it became an eclectic mix of different musical genres.  Their musical genre is described as “spoken words [na] may Jazz, [na] may punk, [kaunting] emo, [na] may punk rock, old school jazz, beat poets, Tito, Vic and Joey (i.e. pertaining perhaps to its witty lyrics).”  He further explained, "We’re still in that process of going beyond our [musical] influences."

So how do they compose their songs? Lourd said “it goes both ways”.  Sometimes the lyrics goes first or the music goes first.  “[Minsan] [binabago] [mo] [yung] sound or [yung] lyrics,” said Lourd.  Impromptu performances—that they also do.

They have done lots of collaboration with other bands such as Keso and Junior Kilat.  RASP also collaborated with Raymond Marasigan.  When asked how do they choose who to collaborate with, Lourd’s answer was simple—“feel good about the person.”

The band is hoping to have an EP this year wherein “experimental [talaga] [mga] [kanta].”

Having different gigs internationally—Hong Kong, Switzerland, etc.—they don’t have any concrete plans yet to go internationally as a band.  “[Mga] political events, not musical festivals,” said Lourd.  “Maybe because [mga] [pangit] [kami],” he added jokingly.

“We don’t exactly appeal to the more mainstream side of the audience,” says Lourd.  Their main audience is primarily “nerdy high school boys, nerdy people who don’t have sex life, nerdy people who don’t have anywhere else to put their money.  We are a tragic band.”  Lourd added again jokingly that they don’t get chicks because the chicks prefer emos.

So what is up with their album titled TIMANSMFKP* - Tanginamo Andaming Nagugutom sa Mundo Fashionista Ka Pa Rin?  It is just a “cheap strategy of selling albums.”

And so, RASP continues to boggle the minds of the citizens and stir some excitement in the society with its spoken lyrics mixed with different musical genres.

Almost Famous movie review

By Remedios V. Lucio

Almost Famous is a film tackling the world of rock 'n roll and entertainment Journalism. Written and directed by Cameron Crowe, it is one of the best films released in 2000.

It brings us back to the world of rock 'n roll in the 1970s with the lead character, William Miller (played by Patrick Fugit), a budding music journalist at 15. He meets up with the infamous rock critic Lester Bangs (Philip Seymour Hoffman), who assigns him to cover a Black Sabbath concert for $35, although Bangs warns him about going into the profession of entertainment journalism. At first, he was not let into the building until he told the the members of Stillwater his opinions on their songs. There he also met Penny Lane, a so-called Band-aid, while waiting for his opportunity to finally get into the building with the band.

He was given a once in a lifetime assignment for Rolling Stone magazine to go on tour with Stillwater, and write about them. His mentor, Creem rock critic Lester Bangs (Phillip Seymour Hoffman), gave him a key advice--"You cannot make friends with the rock stars." But this he does with Stillwater's guitarist, Russell Hammond (Billy Crudup). Not only that but he also falls in love with the group's Band-aid, Penny Lane, who has a thing for Hammond.

It is not really a film about the life in the '70s or the music scene. But it is a movie about Miller's coming of age, finding out on his own beyond the life presented by his overprotective mother. Beginning in the movie as an immature kid who obviously lives under his mother's rules, Miller learns on his own throughout his trip with the band. In the process, he rejects drugs, forms friendships with the others, lost his virginity, and saves a life.

Crowe has made a film that is entertaining and relatable to both insiders and outsiders of the entertainment industry. The film's actor's good acting was accompanied with great music from the 70's, bringing back the audience to that era of rock 'n roll--and perhaps to their own coming of age memory lanes.