Glossary · The rules
Payola
Payola is paying for airplay without disclosing it. US broadcasters are required to identify material that has been aired in exchange for money or other consideration, so undisclosed pay-for-play puts a station's licence at risk. It is a rule about disclosure, and the exposure sits with the station.
This is why any offer of guaranteed airplay deserves a hard look. A station that could be paid to add records would be risking its licence to do it, and a service promising spins is usually either buying placement inside its own app or platform rather than on a licensed station, or counting something that is not an add.
Rotation exists on the other side of this line. We charge artists for tools and information, and never stations for placement. A music director choosing your record is worth something precisely because it cannot be bought.
None of the 1363 stations are paid to be listed, and none pay to be listed. Every one of the 273 confirmed accepting stations was verified against its own published submission page.
Pick your sound and region on Rotation and each of these stations shows its real submission contact and the exact rules it posts: clean edit, WAV, form or mail. Checked by hand and kept current. No station here paid to be listed.
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