Sony BMG To Pay $10 Million To Settle Spitzer Probe

Bloomberg reports that Sony BMG Music Entertainment agreed to pay $10 million and will end “pay-to-play” practices to resolve a state investigation of payola in the music industry, New York Attorney General Eliot Spitzer announced Monday. “Our investigation shows that, contrary to listener expectations that songs are selected for airplay based on artistic merit and popularity, air time is often determined by undisclosed payoffs to radio stations and their employees,” Spitzer said in the statement. “This agreement is a model for breaking the pervasive influence of bribes in the industry.”