Music scandals | Sing a song of Spitzer | Economist.com

Music scandals | Sing a song of Spitzer | Economist.com: "IN 1980, according to a book about the music industry by Fredric Dannen called �Hit Men�, CBS Records decided to run an experiment with a band, Pink Floyd. Their concert dates were sold out in Los Angeles, and radio stations everywhere were playing �Another Brick in the Wall (Part Two)�. Dick Asher, the deputy president of CBS Records, wanted to find out whether the band's popularity meant he could refuse to pay the usual bribes, or illegal �payola�, to the four big Top-40 radio stations in Los Angeles. Like stations across the country, they claimed to make independent choices based on taste. But Mr Asher lost; only after Pink Floyd's manager insisted that CBS Records hand over the money did the stations spin the record. "