Warner Music Group has become the second major label company (the first was Sony BMG) to settle against Eliot Spitzer's ongoing payola investigation and has agreed to pay up $5 million and abandon the practice as a result. How nice.
According to Spitzer's office, the payola took several forms:
- Direct bribes to radio programmers, including airfare, electronics and tickets to premier sporting events and concerts
- Payments to radio stations to cover operational expenses
- Radio contest giveaways for listeners, including flyaways, concert tickets, iPods, gift certificates and gift cards
- Use of independent promoters to act as conduits for illegal payments to radio stations
- The purchase of "spin programs" to artificially increase the airplay of particular recordings.
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