Remember the stories about College students et al, being sued for downloading copies of favorite songs? Totally costing the music industry millions, according to record company flacks... supported by the RIAA thugs. Well, wonder how this story fits in:
"July 26 (Bloomberg) -- Univision Radio Inc., a Spanish- language broadcaster, will pay $1 million to settle claims it secretly accepted payment from a record label for playing songs on the air, the Federal Communications Commission said.
“Payola -- the idea of pay-for-play -- misleads the listening public,” FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski said today in a statement. The agency is committed “to ensuring that broadcasters play it straight with the public,” he said.
The broadcaster, which owns or operates 70 stations in 16 U.S. markets, also entered a plea in a related criminal case filed by the Justice Department at federal court in Los Angeles, the FCC said.
The case “relates to a payola scheme by an isolated group of employees” at Univision Music Group from 2003 to 2006, Univision said in an e-mailed statement. New York-based Univision reported the misconduct to federal prosecutors, and the music group was sold in 2008, the statement said. Universal Music Group bought the unit, according to a company statement."
OK to spend money to get stations to play the song, which gets the artist and label exposure, but the sky falls when someone passes along a song to a friend via computer. Over the air is free, over the Net robs the label.... amazingly stupid thought processes.
1 comment:
I seem to recall a similar story from the 60's. I believe (I haven't checked my facts here) that Murray The K of NY Rock 'n Roll radio fame was charged with accepting money to play certain artists stuff. This is the same guy that had a nightclub out on Long Island who let underage kids in. He was put out of business when one of the kids was killed in a car accident due to being served too much liquor. Barry
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