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While a number of radio groups - including CBS Radio, Clear Channel and Cox Radio - have received subpoenas in the course of New York State Attorney General Eliot Spitzer’s payola probe, Entercom Communications is the first radio group that Spitzer has sued, Mediaweek writes.
The lawsuit charges Entercom - the fourth largest radio group with 105 stations - with “accepting secret payments in exchange for airtime,” violating state and federal laws and compromising its programming. Spitzer alleged that Entercom “solicited” payments from labels in the form of gifts, promotional items and personal trips for airtime, in order to manipulate music airplay charts.
Entercom said in a statement that it “is a company that believes in playing by the rules and does so. We have firm policies prohibiting payola and requiring compliance with the federal sponsor identification rules, and we enforce them. We have cooperated fully with the Attorney General’s office in this investigation.”
Spitzer has called the Federal Communications Commission to action regarding payola, stating, “The agency’s inaction is especially disappointing given the pervasive nature of this problem and its corrosive impact on the entertainment industry.”
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