Payola probe could jolt industry

In a development that could have devastating consequences for giant media corporations, the Los Angeles Times has disclosed that several independent record promoters keep detailed logs of songs played by radio stations, the amount of money the promoters receive from record labels for persuading stations to add the songs to their playlists and the amount of payments the promoters subsequently make to stations in the form of cash, travel and tickets to performances. Copies of some of the logs were reproduced in Tuesday edition of the newspaper. The Times quoted Peter Hart, an analyst for media watchdog Fairness & Accuracy in Reporting, as saying, “What you have here is a smoking gun. This document confirms suspicions that critics have long had about potential tit-for-tat arrangements between independent promoters and radio stations. An appropriate government investigation could blow this whole industry wide open.” The Times indicated that the documents could become an important element in a four-year government investigation into corruption in the radio business. Under FCC rules, any broadcaster that violates federal law by receiving “payola” at a single station could lose its license to operate all of its other stations — including TV stations.