16 replies to this topic

[celine the power of my dream]

It turnes out SonyBMG paid radio stations to play the music of their artists. This is not good of the artists who are under the contract of Sony including Céline. In the articles they even give Céline as example that they good earn trips to Vegas when they play Céline.

http://www.usatoday....ettlement_x.htm

What do you think about this?

[Ronny83]

I'm not surprised at all. It's the most common thing in music business to pay for more airplay. Did you ever watch the funny movie "Be Cool", when the manager of a rap band threatens a radio owner with a gun to add his record to their playlist?    Every record label uses this trick. Sometimes, they buy records in retail, too.

I just wonder why they want us to believe only Sony BMG did it.  

BTW, here is another list of radio stations and artists involved in this gate:

Quote

For instance, the program director for Buffalo, New York's WKSE-FM received several flights (to New York, Miami and Ft. Lauderdale, Florida, with guests) in exchange for adding Jennifer Lopez's "I'm Real" (in July 2001), Good Charlotte's "Hold On" (in November 2003) and Franz Ferdinand's "Take Me Out" (in August 2004) to his station's play list.

A label employee complained about the deal in an intercepted e-mail to a higher-up: "Two weeks ago, it cost us over $4,000 to get Franz on WKSE. That is what the four trips to Miami and hotel cost. ... At the end of the day, [the program director] added [Good Charlotte] and Gretchen Wilson ... for $750. So almost $5,000 in two weeks for overnight airplay."

In other instances, program directors were offered and/or received electronic goods such as flat-screen TVs, entertainment systems, laptop computers, PlayStation 2 consoles and games, and portable CD players, as well as flights, hotel stays and car service. Radio stations that participated in the payola schemes include WQHT-FM in New York (Hot 97); WWPR-FM in New York (Power 105); KHTS-FM in San Diego (Channel 933); WRHT-FM in Greenville, North Carolina; WFLY-FM in Albany, New York (Fly 92.3), WWHT-FM in Syracuse, New York (Hot 107.9); and WSSP-FM in Milwaukee (The Beat), among others. In response to one such offer, a program director e-mailed the label, saying, "I'm a whore this week, what can I say?"

"Our investigation shows that, contrary to listener expectations that songs are selected for airplay based on artistic merit and popularity, airtime is often determined by undisclosed payoffs to radio stations and their employees," Spitzer said. "This [BMG settlement] is a model for breaking the pervasive influence of bribes in the industry."

Much of the illegal solicitation came in the form of "spin programs" — airplay under the guise of advertising — for artists such as Jessica Simpson ("Take My Breath Away"), Good Charlotte ("I Just Wanna Live"), Avril Lavigne ("Don't Tell Me") and Maroon 5 ("Sunday Morning"). This meant listeners were sometimes unaware that the spin was purchased, and the songs achieved an inflated chart position because monitoring services couldn't differentiate between the purchased spins and regular spins.

Source: http://www.mtv.com/n...?headlines=true

[VanMerlin]

Recording companies have been doing this since the beginning of time. They pay to have it played, and then they're paid for it being played. It's actually no big deal and not considered a black mark on the companies...only a shame for the people that have to listen to the same junk over and over and over and over...It's just business. Funny that I can't find a radio station I like!!

[Teodora]

Let's be honest every record company does that. And all journalists get stuff, from silly presents to trips. I know that, I'm a journalist. But it's up to the people at the radio stations to be professional and not do stuff because of the presents. And let's be honest again, no one would play music people wouldn't listen to because they'd lose adds money. So they play it more because it pays to play certain artists rather than others from every point of view.

[Mozinha]

Everyone knows it. How do you think such crappy songs out there are played over and over again?

Well, I don't think that this paying thing made Celine famous LOL. May have helped but it didn't do it all. And helped for her as much as it helped for anyone else.

[Ronny83]

Mozinha, on Jul 26 2005, 09:51 PM, said:

Well, I don't think that this paying thing made Celine famous LOL. May have helped but it didn't do it all. And helped for her as much as it helped for anyone else.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

I agree. And I have to say that if they really paid for IDAN it didn't work 'cause IDAN was not such a hit in USA.  

[Yentl Anchel]

And that's why the top 40 is all over the world almost the same, I mean Celine is never in there cause they don't play her, the top 40 or the Bill boards is not something the music fans make it is something the Radio stations make in cooperation with the Radio stations    NOT FAIR!

Mozinha, on Jul 26 2005, 09:51 PM, said:

Everyone knows it. How do you think such crappy songs out there are played over and over again?

Well, I don't think that this paying thing made Celine famous LOL. May have helped but it didn't do it all. And helped for her as much as it helped for anyone else.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

[Koolan]

Yeah, that's why some crappy songs make it to the top of the list. Back then, I wonder why certain new songs receive so much airplay. It's all part of the business.  

[celine the power of my dream]

Well in this article they really playing it on Céline and even state that she may knew about it.

source: http://www.reviewjou...s/26954137.html

[piglot82]

celine the power of my dream, on Jul 28 2005, 11:35 AM, said:

Well in this article they really playing it on Céline and even state that she may knew about it.

source: http://www.reviewjou...s/26954137.html

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

They talk as if Celine couldn't make it in the business if it wasn't for the bribery.  Seriously, have they heard Celine's voice?!? The woman is one of the best artist vocally in the business.  

I have no doubt that Sony did this but come on... for some reason I find it hard to believe that Celine was directly involved.

[Mozinha]

I don't believe she was involved. She couldn't care less about this stuff. She leaves it to René. This all seems to be such a "normal" thing to do in the business. So what? Celine never really benefited from it anyways.

Why so much fuss about this right now? Everyone does it. Everyone will keep doing it.  It's just because sometimes they love to pick on someone. This time they choose Celine. Come on media guys... talk about her. Maybe this gets interesting and she ends up getting more airplay and they don't even get to pay.

[Ronny83]

From: http://www.reviewjou...s/26961776.html

Quote

Celine Dion had no knowledge of her record company's payola scheme to boost sales, husband/manager Rene Angelil said Thursday.

"We absolutely know nothing about that," Angelil said in a telephone interview from Montreal.

Sony BMG Music, whose stable of recording artists includes Dion, Jennifer Lopez, Aretha Franklin, OutKast, Pink, Sarah McLachlan and Jessica Simpson, has agreed to pay a $10 million settlement after a New York attorney general's investigation alleged that radio station employees were paid to play certain artists.

Asked if he was aware of Sony BMG's strategies to pump airplay, Angelil said, "Our job is to deliver a good product, and their job is to sell it. I don't know any more than you do. The first I knew of it was when I read it (in a newspaper)."

Well said, René!  

[Bellamy]

Actually the only singer in the industry know how to use this kind of trick is called Mariah Cxxxx.    J/K

[augusto]

Well, I read many things about payola in the past days and Celine Dion was included in every article... But this act didn't make Celine more famous than she was before her 2 years hiatus ... She was always on top because of her talent, her carreer and now, for her magestic show in Vegas...
Here in Brazil payola is the same as "jaba"...but here it's not a crime and new singers use this to promote their carreer in the early years; their debut...
I think Celine didn't know this was happening as René said...it would not contribute to her carreer anyway...

Edited by augusto, 29 July 2005 - 10:07 AM.

[Mozinha]

Ronny83, on Jul 29 2005, 01:45 PM, said:

From: http://www.reviewjou...s/26961776.html

Quote

Celine Dion had no knowledge of her record company's payola scheme to boost sales, husband/manager Rene Angelil said Thursday.

"We absolutely know nothing about that," Angelil said in a telephone interview from Montreal.

Sony BMG Music, whose stable of recording artists includes Dion, Jennifer Lopez, Aretha Franklin, OutKast, Pink, Sarah McLachlan and Jessica Simpson, has agreed to pay a $10 million settlement after a New York attorney general's investigation alleged that radio station employees were paid to play certain artists.

Asked if he was aware of Sony BMG's strategies to pump airplay, Angelil said, "Our job is to deliver a good product, and their job is to sell it. I don't know any more than you do. The first I knew of it was when I read it (in a newspaper)."

Well said, René!  

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

That's my René!!!!!!!!!!!!!!       

[piglot82]

Mozinha, on Jul 29 2005, 01:15 PM, said:

Ronny83, on Jul 29 2005, 01:45 PM, said:

From: http://www.reviewjou...s/26961776.html

Quote

Celine Dion had no knowledge of her record company's payola scheme to boost sales, husband/manager Rene Angelil said Thursday.

"We absolutely know nothing about that," Angelil said in a telephone interview from Montreal.

Sony BMG Music, whose stable of recording artists includes Dion, Jennifer Lopez, Aretha Franklin, OutKast, Pink, Sarah McLachlan and Jessica Simpson, has agreed to pay a $10 million settlement after a New York attorney general's investigation alleged that radio station employees were paid to play certain artists.

Asked if he was aware of Sony BMG's strategies to pump airplay, Angelil said, "Our job is to deliver a good product, and their job is to sell it. I don't know any more than you do. The first I knew of it was when I read it (in a newspaper)."

Well said, René!  

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

That's my René!!!!!!!!!!!!!!       

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Thats OUR Rene      I can just hear him giving the statement in that deep sexy voice of his  

[Mozinha]

piglot82, on Jul 29 2005, 08:20 PM, said:

Thats OUR Rene      I can just hear him giving the statement in that deep sexy voice of his 

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Ok, we can share       

I knew he would come out and defend Celine.
And I knew she had nothing to do with it and him as well!!!!!