p2pnet - rss feed: Spitzer, FCC, Big Music row
p2p news / p2pnet: New York attorney general Eliot Spitzer says US federal regulators went behind his back with radio companies caught in the latest "payola" scandal, saying the move undercuts the case he’s been building for years.
"Spitzer told The Associated Press the settlement figures being bandied about in the federal negotiations ‘would be a substantial evisceration of the negotiations we’re involved in’," says AP.
Big Four Organized Music cartel members Warner Music, Sony BMG, Vivendi Universal and EMI, are currently being investigated at both the federal and New York levels on radio bribery and download price fixing charges.
The cartel is at the same time trying to blackmail its customers in the US abroad and into buying downloads, as well as attempting to extort ’settlement’ payments from American victims.
"Talks between radio companies and the Federal Communications Commission have included possible payments of about $1 million per company, said an official familiar with the talks," the story goes on. But, "Spitzer’s lawyers, by contrast, have been seeking a figure closer to $20 million from each company, the official said."
Warner Music Group recently agreed to pay $5 million to non-profit music organizations, plus $50,000 to cover the costs of Spitzer’s inquiry into payola charges, echoing an earlier deal he’d reached with Sony BMG, which will pay $10 million.
Sony executives were said to have known what was going on, and Spitzer, who’s running for governor, is also investigating Sony in the recent First4Internet rootkit DRM spyware debacle.
"FCC spokesman David Fiske insisted the agency would work with Spitzer, but he did not directly address Spitzer’s charges," adds AP.
Also See:
Associated Press - Spitzer Accuses Feds of Undermining Case, April 4, 2006
price fixing - DoJ probes Big Music downloads, March 3, 2006
radio bribery - 9 radio stations in bribery probe, February 9, 2006
attempting to extort - RIAA targets Santangelo’s kids, February 16, 2006
blackmail its customers - Big Music sues 2,000 customers, April 4, 2006
April 5th, 2006 at 5:37 pm
and all the while, Gonzales is acting like a taxpayer-funded corporate mouth piece. Looks like state governments have our backs against the feds again.