How much do radio stations pay to play professional recording artists music on air?
How much do radio stations pay per song they play?? How do they get permission to play different songs??
Most commercial stations have music locenses from ASCAP, BMI and SESAC, allowing them to play pretty much all available music.
This money goes to the writers, not the artist. The performance royalty is a battle in progress now.
The amount paid to the above licensing organizations varies as it is determined by a number of factors. These may include market size, station revenue, and other factors.