ABC-TV weighs in on radio payola issue

Obviously, "free enterprise" and "level playing field" haven't exactly been watchwords in the entertainment biz ...

ABC News investigative reporter Brian Ross targeted the radio and record industry [on ABC-TV's Primetime] in a story about 'Payola: The Dirty Little Secret Of The Music Business.'

Ross interviewed recording artists who indicated that payola was common practice and necessary to gain radio air play. Ross referred to the practice, which started in the 1950s as a “multi-million dollar secret” which continues today.

On camera New York Attorney General Elliott Spitzer stated that payola “goes to the highest corporate levels of record and radio companies.” ...

Ross interviewed a former Entercom Buffalo program director who claimed he generated as much as a $100,000 in one year for the company. ... He went on to say that most of the money went to the station and to Entercom’s bottom line ...

Full article here.