http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/8700936/FYI, the kinds of practices detailed in the article (pay for play aka payola) were made illegal in the early 60's.? Here's a link explaining it:
http://www.history-of-rock.com/payola.htmBy the looks of the article, it looks like Sony, at least (and I would venture to guess they are not the ONLY big label doing it, but...well, that's just my speculation) has been doing exactly what many consumers have expected is going on in the radio world: Paying for airtime.
And we wonder why all radio is so homogenized....
Edit: I hope this story has some legs and we hear more about this. The stations that accepted Sony's "gifts" are not really mentioned. I'd love to hear if Clear Channel stations were involved at all. Maybe not, but, given how much of the radio "business" they controll, you gotta wonder.