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10 Mil Payola

07/26/05
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(Audio Aggression) New York State Attorney General Eliot Spitzer has announced an agreement to halt pervasive "pay-for-play" in the music industry. Sony BMG Music Entertainment has agreed today, July 25th, to stop making payments and providing expensive gifts to radio stations and their employees in return for "airplay" of the company's songs and will pay $10 million in order to settle a year long investigation by New York Attorney General Eliot Spitzer. The $10 million will be distributed to programs aimed at music education and appreciation in the state of New York.

The inducements for airplay came in several forms including the following: Outright bribes to radio programmers, including expensive vacation packages, electronics and other valuable items; contest giveaways for stations' listening audiences; payments to radio stations to cover operational expenses; retention of middlemen, known as independent promoters, as conduits for illegal payments to radio stations; and payments for "spin programs," airplay under the guise of advertising. [see full story for more] - Click here for the Full Story

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