I'll scratch your back....

[dj_niceshot]

Like many others, I truly wonder what will happen to the recording industry after Spitzer lets his claws off Sony and the other majors.

Happy, Happy changes announced by Sony and presumably the other majors will follow suit. But what will really happen to the business.

It seems the only way Switchfoot, Kelly Clarkson, "Killer" mike gets any airplay is if the labels make it worth our while because the music can't stand on it's own. Or is it any different that Pepsi sending me free "samples" to try Pepsi One?

I am certain several members on this board have benefited from the current situation at Sony or at another label; tickets for your buddy (or woman, depending on your motive), a CD here and there, even some merchandise. I am afraid to mention it to programmers that I know, essentially biting the hand that feeds.

The fact is many have not taken the next step and actually changed their rotation cycles to accomodate the above. Many others, however, have done exactley that. The evidence is pretty damning. When I see this stuff on FoxNews or in the Pittsburg Post/Gazette, not even on industry websites, is now the listening public knows and confirms their long suspicion that the "Top 25" countdown is essentially counting down the most popular song by rotations (connected to above)

The industry hardly does much paid advertising, and that's the difference. Disclosure. With commercials, we clearly see the purpose. The only music commercials I see are for Zamphir or Ronnie Milsap!Playing the music is 'advertising itself'


The fun begins as the FCC is now involved. Several reports are critical of potential Gov. Spitzer's raid on the record labels as out of jurisdiction.

We shall see...

 

[dampier]

> The fun begins as the FCC is now involved. Several reports
> are critical of potential Gov. Spitzer's raid on the record
> labels as out of jurisdiction.

A lot of these come from the same people that were very upset he pursued crimes the SEC ignored, the insurance industry ignored, the consumer protection agencies... ignored. To them, I say cry me a river. In the current political climate where Enron can actually rape an entire state with price manipulation without regulatory agencies ringing alarm bells, Spitzer is picking up the balls other agencies have dropped in not doing their jobs.

Spitzer only posted a small sampler of e-mail on the site. Sony sent them THOUSANDS of messages and paid hundreds of thousands of dollars in the last two years on "promotions" which were little more than payoffs and bribes.

Nobody worries about free concert tickets, CD's, pens, token promo gifts, etc. That has been around forever and is highly unlikely to drive substantial airplay. Even prizes for contest winners, barring any promo plays in return, isn't a problem either. But paying for 1st class airline tickets, laptops, limos, plasma TVs, and pure hard cash for spins is Enron-illegal. They did it because the assumed they would never get caught, at least by the FCC, and they were right.

What the FCC will do is what the FCC always does - very little, unless there is a wardrobe malfunction which upsets the base of the current party in office. Then mega fines. This scandal is far, far worse than any of this. It's a core indictment against how commercial radio and some of the people who work for them operate (note specific mentions of Clear Channel and Entercom in Sony's e-mail - we're not just talking individuals at stations.) If Spitzer lobs $1,000,000 fines against each one of these stations, that's a small start. The DJs themselves should also spend a few weekends in jail or at least picking up trash off highways, and I'm sure those free laptops and other electronics would be quite useful in a local community center for the disadvantaged.