O'Rielly Could Push to Eliminate Payola Rules
If his inquiry into radio payola doesn’t produce new evidence of the practice, Commissioner Mike O’Rielly could push for the FCC to recommend anti-payola rules be “taken off the books,” he answered our question Wednesday during his news conference. The…
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agency should eliminate unnecessary burdens on companies, he said. O’Rielly posted Wednesday on Twitter the final response to his queries to record labels for information on payola violations (see 2004220045). Like other labels, Universal Music Group didn’t provide evidence of payola, and said it was in compliance with federal rules. The label expressed interest in O’Rielly’s suggestion that the rules could be outdated. “In your letter, you correctly note that the lines among alternative technologies are becoming blurred,” said Universal. O’Rielly’s tweet included a call for evidence: “Again, if anyone has credible, tangible facts disputing this response, please let me know.”