How do musicians make music via radio airplay?

I’ve always wondered how exactly music is regulated via radio. Do the radio stations pay the artist per every time they play their song? Or do they buy a song at a bulk purchase and can play the songs as many times as they want?

I’ve wondered if there were any radio stations that indulge in some form of piracy.

They buy a blanket license from the 3 major "performance rights" agencies,
ASCAP, BMI, and SESAC. Cost is usually based on revenue and/or market size.
Non-broadcast forms of radio must also pay SoundExchange.

This entry was posted on Monday, May 24th, 2010 at 5:41 am and is filed under radio music. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

One Response to “How do musicians make music via radio airplay?”

Common Sense on May 24th, 2010 at 11:18 am

They buy a blanket license from the 3 major "performance rights" agencies,
ASCAP, BMI, and SESAC. Cost is usually based on revenue and/or market size.
Non-broadcast forms of radio must also pay SoundExchange.
References :

Radios