The Smoking Gun for Sony Payola

If there were ever any doubt how so much undeserving shit gets on the radio, here's the answer: one station gets a new digital camera, another gets some plane tickets to Orlando, Florida, just to play Train and Beyonce five extra times a day. Every adult-contemporary Infinity station gets a promotional spot from Celine Dion in exchange for "reporting" her "Goodbye's (The Saddest Word)" single. It's not just the typical pop crap, though, one email talks about how it cost $4000 "to get Franz [Ferdinand] on WKSE". All these and more in this PDF collection of documents from the Sony payola case posted on Boing Boing.

Highlights: Epic lists exact payouts for 75 spins based on size of market. Quotes: 'I'm a whore this week, what can I say?' 'Get a power rotation commitment before we commit.' 'Don't want to position Duran Duran with an 80's club ... they are still just as relevant in 2004.' And of course the inevitable 'Sent from my Blackberry Wireless Handheld.'" It's awesome: this lists DJ after DJ who accepting paltry little tchotchkes in exchange for their integrity and mortal souls. They're not just whores, they're cheap whores.
Sony settled out of court with New York Attorney General Eliot Spitzer, but they're not the only ones in the hotseat. The other major record labels have also come under scrutiny, as have radio stations. In fact, radio mega-conglomerate Clear Channel has been served subpoenas in the case.

A Clear Channel spokesperson told FMQB, "We are cooperating fully with Mr. Spitzer's office. Clear Channel has extremely strict internal policies against payola; so strict that we severed ties with independent promoters in early 2003 to avoid even the appearance of impropriety. We investigate any allegation of this nature. The allegations made today will be fully investigated and any wrongdoing will be met by swift and appropriate disciplinary action."
Sweat, you motherfuckers, sweat.

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