We will continue to take ‘Payola’ - Merqury Quaye

Host of the Cruise Control, drive time show on Hitz FM, Merqury Quaye says Ghanaian DJs will continue to take ‘Payola’ even though some individuals describe it as illegal.

The practice, which involves bribing a DJ or presenter to play an artiste's song on the radio, has been the subject of public debate for several years now.

In an interview with Doreen Avio during the social media trends segment, on his show, the presenter cum DJ said Ghanaian musicians are solely responsible for the promotion of their songs and that’s something they must pay for.

“What music artistes and their managers should understand is that there is something called promotion and listen. As a DJ, it is my prerogative to play this song or that song.

"I play what I feel my listeners would love but when it comes to you actually trying to get your song to a level, its promotion and you need to pay for your promotion you need to invest in your promotion," he said.

He added that Ghanaian musicians think that once they release a new song, it is automatic that radio presenters or DJ should play it on radio.

Merqury, who is the founder of the Ghana DJ Awards, also bemoaned how some musicians tend to be ungrateful after attaining fame with the help of DJs.

“DJs in Ghana are actually getting on their grind and we’re going to stop this pro-bono thing. Most of the time, when an artiste gets to a certain level, they even forget where they are coming from, they forget the support.

"So anyone who continues to say that ‘Payola’ is illegal listen, we will continue to take payola because this is promotion. If I have to go out of my way to keep pushing your song to the masses, it is called promotion,” he concluded.