It’s called “taste magnetics: People experiencing art together are apt to concur on its merits. When you laugh, I’m more prone to smile. When you flinch, I grimace. We’re swayable. Taste magnetics also helps account for the persistence of payola, or radio ‘pay for play.’ That bogeyman of the music biz is back. Reactions seem split: Camp 1 cries, ‘See why the radio is so full of lousy music?’ while Camp 2 yawns, ‘Same as it ever was; you can’t buy hits.’ Each has a point.”