US radio major CBS has become the first broadcasting corporation to settle with New York Attorney General Eliot Spitzer in his long running payola investigations. As previously reported, Spitzer has been investigating dodgy practices in the world of US radio promotions for some time, and three of the major record companies have admitted to essentially bribing radio bosses to play their music, and have agreed to pay fines and revamp internal rules as a result. Spitzer has since turned his attention to the radio groups accused of accepting bribes and, while one company, Entercom, has tried to fight the Attorney General through the courts (albeit so far unsuccessfully), CBS has gone the 'fair cop guvnor here's some cash' route. They have pledged to introduce more stringent rules regarding the relationships their station managers have with record labels and their promoters, as well as paying $2 million in fines. CBS runs approximately 180 radio stations across the US.
Oct 20, 2006
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1 min read
CBS makes peace with Spitzer over payola investigation
CBS has become the first broadcaster to settle with New York Attorney General Eliot Spitzer, pledging stricter rules and paying $2 million in fines.