Sony: Payola

Have you ever wondered why you hear the same eight songs on the radio replayed over and over again each day?

Sony what are you doing? New York State Attorney General Eliot Spitzer recently uncovered a hugh payola scheme involving Sony BMG and its affiliates. Now that Sony has settled their illegal practices to the tune of ten million in fines, The Deadbolt takes a look at where this leaves radio and the music industry over-all.

In 1960, a federal law was passed banning record companies from offering money in exchange for airplay. The practice was called "payola," a combination of "pay" and "Victrola," the old wind-up record player. In the course of Spitzer's investigation, he gathered damning evidence in the form of e-mails from executives, like this from an article on E online:

"What do I have to do to get Audioslave on WKSS this week?...Whatever you can dream up, I can make it happen."

Where does this leave the music and radio industries? Just because Sony was the one to get caught, doesn't mean they are the only one. Logically, we could assume that if Sony BMG are working the radio stations with payola, others may be as well. Given the recent news, we may find out soon. Spitzer's investigation isn't over and he has requested documents from other labels like, EMI, Warner Music Group and Vivendi Universal SA's Universal Music Group, adding that the payola problem goes "way beyond Sony BMG." As for the radio station industry, Spitzer asked the FCC to review the major radio-station owners, and consider stripping the companies of their broadcast licenses in cases of payola involvemnet.

How much did Sony know? Apparently not very much as most of their statements regarding the case centered around executives acting on their own. In a statement reported by The Wasington Post Sony BMG said:

"Direct and indirect forms of what has been described generically as `payola' for spins has continued to be an unfortunately prevalent aspect of radio promotion... various employees pursued some radio promotion practices on behalf of the company that were wrong and improper."

After it is all said and done will these latest revelations change the way the music industry does business? Short term yes, but over time the major labels will most likely continue to find new ways of getting around the system. With the large amounts of money and the competitive nature of music, you can bet they will continue to push the boundaries in search of the competative edge.

The Deadbolt request lines are now open... insert coin here