Sony admits to paying radio stations to play their artists,
pays out $10 million fine, doesn't blink
An example... "In one instance, a Sony BMG executive contemplated a plot to promote Killer Mike's "A.D.I.D.A.S" by sending deejays one Adidas sneaker. Deejays would receive the other sneaker after playing the single ten times."
"Please be advised that in this week's Jennifer Lopez Top 40 Spin Increase of 236 we bought 63 spins at a cost of $3,600." "Please be advised that in this week's Good Charlotte Top 40 Spin Increase of 61 we bought approximately 250 spins at a cost of $17K …"
"Take Jennifer Lopez's awful record, "Get Right," with its shrill horn and lifted rap. It's now clear that was a "bought" sensation when it was released last winter. So, too, were her previous "hits" "I'm Glad" and "I'm Real," according to the memos. ... It's no surprise. There isn't a person alive who could hum any of those 'songs' now. Not even J-Lo herself."
From a Sony internal memo on Sept. 8, 2004: "Two weeks ago it cost us over 4000.00 to get Franz [Ferdinand] on WKSE." The Glasgow Daily Record drops the bombshell on their hometown heroes... "Last year, a Buffalo-based DJ added their single Take Me Out to a station playlist - and was rewarded with an extravagant trip to Miami for four."
And still more..." Another, from an Epic employee to a Clear Channel programmer looked like this: "WHAT DO I HAVE TO DO TO GET AUDIOSLAVE ON WKSS THIS WEEK?!!? Whatever you can dream up, I can make it happen."
What I want to know is does this happen in New Zealand? Any comments? Record comapny spies?
Delicious
Digg
Reddit
Facebook
Google
Technorati
Hey dubdubdub, where'd you get those ...
Hey dubdubdub, where'd you get those quotes from?
aaah. . i type too slow...
aaah. . i type too slow
various news sources, gleaned off ...
various news sources, gleaned off google news. Franz quote is from their hometown paper Galsgow Daily record, JLo from fox news, and pitchfork
you got any sources bro? i'd be keen ...
you got any sources bro? i'd be keen to know more .. . .
i didn't know that any of this was illegal. . . .its shifty though, definitely. . ... ....
try google news, theres heaps on there, ...
try google news, theres heaps on there, under entertainment, just search for sony payola....
Yeah, I'm pretty sure its illegal. ...
Yeah, I'm pretty sure its illegal. Theres a fantastic book by Fredric Dannen called "Hitmen" which illustrates all the naughty goings-on in the american music market, much of that mischief revolving around payola. Tis a good read indeed if you're interested.
Link to amazon hurrr ???
[ external link ]
Ignore the "???"'s just click ze link...
Ignore the "???"'s just click ze link
from the LA Times Practitioners of ...
from the LA Times
Practitioners of the promotion trade, once estimated to be a $60-million-a-year business, have fallen on hard times. Increased governmental scrutiny and declining sales of musical recordings have caused labels to slash their payments to independent promoters by as much as 75% in the last four years. One of the industry's top promoters, for instance, has shut two of his firm's four offices and fired three-quarters of his 50-person staff.
In past investigations, Spitzer has been criticized for allegedly overstepping his jurisdiction, pushing into areas that are overseen by the federal government. The Federal Communications Commission is responsible for enforcing payola laws.
But the FCC, which is wrestling with other issues, including telecommunications policy, media consolidation and indecency on public airwaves, has imposed only one fine in a payola case in the last decade. It was relatively small, however: $8,000.
http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-payola23jul23,0,4233398.story?coll...
I can't imagine any labels in NZ ...
I can't imagine any labels in NZ having the budget to offer extravagant bribes, notwithstanding the occasional booze-laden industry party or something; and I seriously doubt that the payoff would really be enough to cover such activity anyway. Hell, the government actually pays the labels to produce kiwi artists, after all...
I know of record company reps who have ...
I know of record company reps who have hooked up with DJs before. I'm sure that was entirely about getting their songs on the radio and not the lots-of-booze-at-industry-parties....
hahaha.. well the music industry is ...
hahaha.. well the music industry is VERY small here. Business is pretty much always done over beers and/or a smoke. someone said it once before.. "record company people are shady...." Its their job to keep radio stations happy. Does it make a difference if its $750 (were there more 00's than that? ) or a joint? huh. kinda. maybe.
Certainly no reason to doubt that shady ...
Certainly no reason to doubt that shady dealings arent going on - because they are. I am privvy to them frequently - money is not the only currency in this country - nor is barter a thing of the past. Dodgy deals are a reality for a sifty and despicable industry. Like a seedy game of cards.
Industry rule number four thousand and ...
Industry rule number four thousand and eighty,
Record company people are shady.
So kids watch your back ’cause I think they smoke crack..
Tribe Called Quest, Check the rhime
Record company people are people too....
Record company people are people too.
"The music business is a cruel and ...
"The music business is a cruel and shallow money trench, a long plastic hallway where thieves and pimps run free, and good men die like dogs. There's also a negative side."
-- Hunter S. Thompson
Major labels in NZ do it as well, just ...
Major labels in NZ do it as well, just in different ways, like buying huge amounts of advertising if one of their acts will be on heavy rotate etc...
a form of payola, but is such standard practise that it isn't even thought of.
ah bless hunter s. for yet again ...
ah bless hunter s. for yet again reaffirming the truth
There was a guy who came and talked at ...
There was a guy who came and talked at a music commission seminar last year in Dunedin who was basically saying his job was to meet with radio programmers, buy them lunch and give them free tickets and talk about what he wanted them to push that month. Surely this would be the tip of the iceberg for this guy. Apparently bands paid him for this service. His name was Mark something I think. He was saying he had done this for Scribe, P-Money and a few others I can't remember. I'm sure this kind of thing would be rife in the NZ industry - how else do we explain the relative success of Tadpole, Zed et al?
who else do they promote shamelessly ...
who else do they promote shamelessly and NOT get the chart action they seek?
seems like a loss leader to me, and if it helps break bands like Franz ferdinand to a wider audience then brilliant.
J Lo can go fuck herself though
Also this is what happens in the ...
Also this is what happens in the pharmaceutical industry too but on a much bigger scale and the impact is people’s health not just their musical tastes
original Sony documents now online at ...
original Sony documents now online at
http://www.oag.state.ny.us/press/2005/jul/payola2.pdf
runs to 59 pages....
sucking up is nothing new in the music ...
sucking up is nothing new in the music industry. i know alot(!) of bands who will pretend to be friends with someone if they think it will get them somewhere. thats basically the same thing, just on a smaller scale. at least sony is just targeting pockets, and not mentally fucking people over.