The teaser on abc.com quotes New York State attorney general Eliot Spitzer saying that evidence 'clearly shows' some of the radio conglomerates have accepted payments from record companies and middlemen for guaranteed airplay. "The behavior has been unethical, improper, illegal and a sanction of some severity clearly should be imposed," Spitzer told ABC News investigative reporter Brian Ross.
The nine radio companies receiving subpoenas from the attorney general are Clear Channel, CBS Radio, Entercom, Emmis, Citadel, Cumulus, Cox, Pamal and ABC. Spitzer says that much of the money went directly to corporate bottom lines, instead of PDs or disc jockeys, and that documents obtained from Sony BMG and Warner Music Group outline details of millions of dollars in payments, gifts and trips in exchange for airplay.
ABC News will air an in-depth “Primetime” report in a segment at 10:30 tonight (Feb. 9) on Spitzer’s investigation into the alleged participation in payola by nine of the nation's radio groups. Ross' reports on the music business date back to 1986, when he uncovered alleged organized crime ties to record promotion.
It seems, judging from what I hear on the air and see in monitored spins reports. at least one major group continues as of yesterday (2/8) to execute their national paid spins overnight 'new music' feature. What can they possibly be thinking?
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They pre-empted the report, but it's still available on the ABC News website:
http://a.abcnews.com/podcast/060209brianross.mp3
http://abcnews.go.com/Primetime/story?id=1591155&page=1
"The FCC staff is working with voluminous evidence right now. It's a complicated and wide-ranging investigation." FCC Commissioner Jonathan Adelstein told ABC News in an exclusive interview.
"This is potentially the most wide spread and flagrant violation of FCC rules in the history of American broadcasting," Adelstein said. "We've never seen evidence of such a systematic betrayal of the responsibility of broadcasters."
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