note pic of Eliot trying to explain the curtains

I was disappointed that this story was not HUGE. Maybe it is because I am a music dork, but I wanted to see this splashed somewhere on the front page of every paper in America. Between this proven payola, and Clear Channel's monopoly... the music industry is in very dire straits.

No wonder everyone is turning to iPods & Satellite radio.

I agree Lono, but it seems like people just don't much care about the business end of entertainment unless it directly affects the entertainment, which of course it does, but they don't much want to hear about it

Yeah and when you start telling people how the FCC is largely to blame for the bad music you hear on the radio, it goes right thru them.

If the FCC didn't regulate the airwaves, and drive up the costs of what is actually a fairly cheap method of communication to the point where only major players could comfortably compete, then there would not be so much consolidation and the "customers" would be the listeners again, not the across the board deals with multimedia companies.

Because then your competitors would lower their advo rates, and start playing music people wanted to hear...

Unless I am missing something

The domination of Clear Channel in the States has killed the single. However, it's the single which could generate some money. In Europe and Australia, the singles there are top-notch.

But in the States, even the single is without any extras (videos, remixes, multimedia gallery.)if one exists. There's a market out there for it (like iTunes) But aside from having a neat gadget, there isnt' any true incentive.

Unfortunately, Sony (as well as the other record companies) have gotten so caught up in the bottom line, they forgot that there are people out there who want depth to their music.

Trends only last a few months, a catalogue album sells forever.

"note pic of Eliot trying to explain the curtains--Eric Olsen"

Watch how you talk about my boyfriend :)

This payola scandal is just the visible aspect of the problem. I feel that all media is coopted by corporations. Sometimes I try to counteract it here by some reviews. A certain movie was being heavily praised and promoted by "reviewers" even though it was crap, so I wrote about that. Another was being trashed without cause and I wrote about that. To me, talent is important. I may be pretty impotent to combat the powers that be but I gotta try. When I find local malls that won't carry our alternative weekly I let them know that that isn't ok and I know that something political is going on. A large theater chain was giving inaccurate times for movie showings to the alternative weekly for their schedule because they were in bed with the daily newspapers. Many times I called out the theater manager when I got there at the wrongly stated time and harrangued him. I always try to confront this stuff.

Maybe you can make a selling point for Blogcritics that we aren't corporately influenced. Independent reviews.

thanks Cerulean, maybe you can do an interview for us with your boyfriend?

Not only are we independent, but our writers are independent of us - THAT'S indepdendence

Individual writers can be corporately influenced, though. If anybody's reading, I'm willing to accept payola, no problem.

And Cerulean, I'll let you know for which reviews I'm accepting cash, so you can counter them. :-)

for best internal balance, I pay myself