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ALBANY, N.Y. (AP) - New York Attorney General Eliot Spitzer said Wednesday he has subpoenaed many of the nation's largest radio conglomerates in his "payola" investigation of major artists and songs that he claims got air time because of payoffs by recording companies.
Spitzer wouldn't identify the major radio companies that have been subpoenaed or release the artists and songs that he claims benefited from the pay-for-play practice for cash, trips and gifts like the scandal that rocked early Rock n' Roll in the 1950s and 1960s.
"A lot of the major songs have been implicated in this and it showed how pervasive the payola infrastructure had become," Spitzer told The Associated Press. "Probably many of the songs that were beneficiaries of the payola scheme would have succeeded without it, but certainly payola became part of the promotional structure and was integral to the game to get songs to the top. Major artists, major songs were sent up the charts through improper payments to buy spins on the air that translated into sales."
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