Payola is the act of paying disc jockeys for airplay.

D’Adra Williams, station manager at Zip FM, agrees with the  proposal.

“Before we agree, we would have to see the requirements as I don’t  see how it could work,” she said.

The station manager — who was quick to point out that her station  has systems for checks and balances — believes that the suggestion of a  mandatory playlist could prove problematic.

“I think they should make music sheets mandatory because we send  this to the collection agencies,” she  said, explaining that

the volume of songs produced daily could        prove  challenging.

Williams said she sees no problem with disc jocks playing their  own music.

“If music is your life, it’s a natural progression that you would  want to have further interest in — that’s why they go into production,” she  said.

Williams said ZIP FM was created for a certain format and  therefore some songs just will not get played.

“We mainly play party music. We hardly play the One drop [songs],”  she said.

Andrea Williams-Green, IRIE FM’s programme manager, said payola is  a “systemic issue”.

“It’s complex, dynamic      and fluid,” she told the Jamaica  Observer.

According to Williams-Green, if a move is made to solve the  problem only at the point of radio play, then the multi-dimensional issues  associated with payola would have been discounted.

“You have to look at the stakeholders. We have not stopped to  think that there are numerous factors making payola possible — political  institutions, entertainment agencies, and other elements within the media and  entertainment landscape,” she said.

Williams-Green said her station upholds the policy of fair  play.

“We have additional areas where upcoming artistes are featured.  That’s why the new artiste segment was introduced on The Buzz,”

she said.

She said part of the problem with producers and artistes is that  they leave their CDs at the front desk addressed to a particular  disc  jockey.

“The library has no record of that,” she said, adding they should  address it to the Librarian at Irie FM.