BUT YOU KNOW, in the past, drugs and prostitutes have been employed to get radio programmers to play certain records.
OK, "Bribers and price gougers and pushers and pimps get upset at college kids for 'stealing' their overpriced crap."
And by God, something has to be done about those college kids illicitly downloading albums on the Internet.
From The Associated Press:
Another round of threatening letters is on its way to suspected music pirates at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, with 19 more students accused of illegally downloading music, the university said Friday.
It's the third batch of students targeted at the university, bringing the total number to 80.
The Recording Industry Association of America filed "John Doe" lawsuits against five UNL students last week, alleging copyright infringement. Those five students have not been identified, and university lawyer John Wiltse told Nebraska regents at their Friday meeting that the alleged violators will not be identified unless the recording industry obtains a subpoena.
Otherwise, the process is fairly anonymous. The recording industry group's letters are sent to the university, asking officials to pass them along to alleged offenders.
In late February, the association sent letters offering discounted settlements to 400 computer users at 13 universities. Since then, more than 800 new letters have been sent, offering students the option to settle with the group.
Some UNL students already have settled with the organization. Tom Keefe, who works in Student Legal Services at UNL and has handled some of the settlement offer letters, said students could have settled within 20 days of notification for a $3,000 fee. After that, he said, the offer jumps to $4,000.
UNL still hasn't heard back from the recording industry group on a request for reimbursement of for costs to track down the students accused in the first two rounds.
Regent Jonathan Henning suggested that students who illegally download files be the ones to pay the university's investigation costs.
"They're the ones stealing," he said.
Regents asked Wiltse why the university complied with the recording industry's request to forward the letters to students accused of illegal downloading.
"Certainly I agree that the university shouldn't be an enclave for thieves," Henning said, but asked why the university should forward the letters.
Wiltse said they relayed the letters to give students the opportunity to respond and possibly settle to avoid costly lawsuits and litigation.
The Federal Communications Commission announced Friday it had settled with four of the nation's largest radio groups, closing investigations into the broadcasters' payola violations. Under the consent decree, Clear Channel, CBS Radio, Citadel Broadcasting and Entercom Communications have agreed to pay a combined $12.5 million to the FCC, resolving allegations that the broadcasters accepted cash or other consideration in exchange for airplay.
In addition to the $12.5 million payment to the FCC, the broadcasters have agreed to implement certain business reforms and compliance measures.
“Today, a unified Commission sends a resounding message to the radio industry: payola, in any form, has no place in radio and will not be tolerated by the FCC,” said Commissioner Jonathan Adelstein.
“Pay-for-play broadcasting cheats consumers, musicians and the law. It denies consumers choice in what they hear, it deprives musicians of the exposure they need to survive and it is illegal,” added Commissioner Michael Copps. “Today the Commission takes action against payola. While not a lethal blow, this action makes real, tangible progress against unacceptable pay-for-play practices.”
“Airwaves belong to the public, not the highest bidder,” those are the wise words spoken by Eliot Spitzer, New York’s [then] attorney general. [He's now governor -- R21] He is the catalyst who started the ball rolling in uncovering the payola scandal. On Friday, April 13th the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) ended the largest payola investigation to date since the law was passed in 1960 by invoking a consent decree.
Major record labels such as Universal and Warner went under investigation during the summer of 2005 for paying radio stations to play their selected music. Ironically, those same mainstream labels are fighting people (or shall I say IP addresses) for illegal P2P activity claiming a loss in profits; while behind closed doors they are participating in illegal payola churning out the dough to radio stations.
Radio stations also received hefty fines in conjunction with the consent decree for accepting money and gifts under the radar. According to Digital Music News, the biggest bill went out to Entercom totaling $4 million. The FCC is also demanding radio employees receive routine training on payola rules and hire compliance officers at each station.
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