Sony pays $10 million payola settlement

NEW YORK – After a year-long investigation, SONY BMG Music Entertainment has admitted it paid radio stations to play songs by its artists and will pay a US$10 million fine. In response, the Federal Communications Commission called for a wide-ranging investigation of its own into the radio industry and payola accusations. The word payola dates back to a scandal in the 1960s where record companies were found to be paying disc jockeys (most of whom made their own programming decisions at the time) for airplay. A good, quick historical explanation can be found here.U.S. Attorney General Eliot Spitzer announced the...