It was back in the early 1960s that the first court cases concerning payola, the odious practice of a record company paying radio DJs to play an artist’s songs regardless of quality, hit the press, and the practice was effectively stamped out inside of a decade. But in the past few years, creative new forms of payola have been stampeding through the increasingly corporate American radio industry, virtually unchecked. Now, the state attorney general of New York is pursuing the industry anew, and this week, recording giant Sony BMG agreed to pay a $10 million fine and to halt its practice of paying DJs for airplay.
Tag: 07.26.05
Fan On A Mission
“Constantino Brumidi, the Italian-born fresco artist whose ornate Renaissance- and Pompeian-style murals decorate much of the United States Capitol,” remains a relatively unknown figure in the corridors of Washington power. “Enter [Joseph] Grano, a fast-talking lawyer and civic gadfly whose causes include historic preservation, and who is now dedicated, he said, to making Brumidi “a folk hero for Americans.” As chairman of the Constantino Brumidi Society, a loose-knit group he runs out of his apartment here, Mr. Grano has spent five years poking and prodding Washington’s power elite to honor Brumidi: on coins and stamps, with Congressional resolutions, even the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the nation’s highest civilian honor.”
Fordham Spire Design Unveiled In Chicago
Plans for Chicago’s latest insanely tall building will be officially introduced this week, and will check in at 115 stories topped by a 542-foot spire which would make the skyscraper the tallest building in the U.S. The tower’s design, by the Spanish-born architect Santiago Calatrava, is winning raves from Chicago pols and business types, but of course, there are the omnipresent security concerns…
NY Phil: Violinist Dismissed For Bad Behavior
The New York Philharmonic has responded publicly to a lawsuit brought by a violinist it dismissed at the end of his probationary term with the orchestra, calling his accusations of gender discrimination an “insult all the women members of every section of the New York Philharmonic.” The Philharmonic also says that Anton Polezhayev was dismissed primarily for unspecified “behavioral” problems about which he had been spoken to several times. Polezhayev is seeking reinstatement to the orchestra, as well as back pay.