Jango

While mainstream artists appeal to Congress to get paid by radio stations, lesser-known bands have begun paying out of their own pockets to have their music played online. For $30 per 1,000 plays, Jango, a free Internet radio site with 6 million monthly listeners, will incorporate a band's songs into the playlists of people who have expressed an interest in similar-sounding music.

Unlike terrestrial radio, which only pays royalties to songwriters, online radio stations have to pay royalties to both songwriters and the musicians who performed on the recording. The digital royalties seem minimal (.0018 cents per play), but they add up, says Jango CEO Dan Kaufman, which is why his model shifts the burden back onto the bands.

Jango has approached a number of Boston-based promotion companies about moving clients toward their pay-for-play format. Adam Lewis of Planetary Group plans to look into it but remains somewhat skeptical. "On one hand, I am generally supportive of anything that helps new music get heard," he says. "That said, having paid, placed music is everything that is wrong with terrestrial radio and the whole reason a whole generation migrated to the Internet."

It seems to have worked so far for Jeevan Menon, a Boston hip-hop artist who performs as Jeevz. "I've found it to be of great help in terms of promoting my music," he says. "I certainly have gained more fans since I got my songs on rotation under Jango."

Who knows, before long he might build a big enough fan base to migrate to terrestrial radio, where, unless things change, he won't get paid at all.

Boston Globe