Sony got slapped on the wrist for bribing media outlets to play the music of their crappy artists.
I think I've seen this movie before.
Interestingly, when the crime involved an individual (Alan Freed the first time around) it was a big scandal and shook the industry. Now, when the culprit is a huge corporation they're let off with a slap on the wrist (really, what's 10 million dollars to a congolomorate like Sony? It's like me getting a $25 jaywalking ticket) and are allowed to go their merry way with a casual promise to sin no more.
Just one of the problems with corporations.
Unless penalties mean something in their business context, they have no motivation to "do right".
How long have they been buying airtime, I wonder.
How much exposure did Sony music drones recieve from it?
How much revenue did this policy generate for Sony?
My off the cuff guess is a fuck of a lot more than ten million dollars.
So they write off the 10 million as an advertising loss and go on their merry way, shoving bullshit down the open gullet of the vox populi.
Yay team!
1 comment:
I'm more inclined to side with Daniel Gross on this one:
http://slate.com/id/2123483/
Fifty years ago, the prospect of a big record company like Sony and a big radio station owner conspiring to fix what got played could have threatened an important component of the economy and actually stifled musical creativity. But not today. With declining record sales, the rise of Internet and satellite radio, and the advent of iTunes, iPods, and podcasting, radio stations and record companies have become an object of pity more than fear. Indeed, read the correspondence, and you'll find people who aren't particularly good at business (or spelling) exchanging penny-ante favors with equally pathetic DJs in order to get them to play the lame songs they know the market doesn't really want to hear.
Sure, marketing blitzes and intense radio campaigns can help push undeserving artists onto the charts. But music today is pulled by consumers far more than it's pushed by conglomerates. Technology and competition have liberated listeners from the clutches of bad Top 40 radio.
Artists might not get the kind of promotion they want if the Sonys of the world are paying stations to play Celine Dion. But show me a content creator—writer, musician, actor—who has ever been satisfied with the level of promotion his or her work received. In the 1950s, a quirky band had no way to gain national exposure. Today, music groups can control distribution and reach global audiences instantly. It's possible—though certainly more difficult—to build a career in music without radio stations or Sony.
Entertainment payola is harmless because this is a consumer market that functions reasonably well. Books and movies backed by huge, ubiquitous promotional budgets won't gain market share and displace competitors if they suck. The Island may have launched in 3,000 theaters, but it won't be filling them for long. We don't need laws to prevent the excessive marketing of The Island.
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