P.O.D. Singer Isn’t Happy With WWE

Anyone who has ever played in a band has heard something along the lines of, “We won’t pay you, but we’ll give your music exposure,” at some point. While having music exposed to new audiences is nice, at the end of the day, it doesn’t usually translate into a viable financial option for most artists struggling to make ends meet. And most people wouldn’t think that a company as big as the WWE would use the “no pay, more exposure” line, but that’s exactly what happened to P.O.D. according to their vocalist Sonny Sandoval.

The band’s song, “Booyaka 619,” has been used by wrestling great Rey Mysterio since the early 2000s. But Sandoval told the “Drinks With Johnny” podcast that the band has never been paid by the company for using the track, and that P.O.D. really hasn’t benefitted financially from Mysterio using the song for decades.

”Sometimes, we’ve done stuff with WWE, and because WWE is so huge, they’re so powerful of an empire, even back then,” Sandoval said. “But they can say, ‘Can we use your music?’ ‘Yes.’ ‘Okay. We’re not gonna pay you for it. But because we’re WWE, you’re gonna get so much press’ and you know what I mean? ‘And get so much hype’ and at some point, you’re like, ‘Dang, okay.’ I guess so. Because even now, I still hear it when Rey comes out. Rey Mysterio at WrestleMania… You’re like, ‘Dude, they’re still playing our jam.’ Big shout out to Mad One. It’s like, they’re still playing our tune, but we ain’t seeing none of that… It’s a game bro. It’s a game.”