Futuremusic reported earlier that Spitzer had served subpoenas to Sony-BMG, Universal Music Group, EMI Group and the Warner Music Group seeking any link to independent promoters who use every weapon in their arsenal to influence radio programmers to play their clients songs. The major labels have used middlemen for years as a method to get around the Payola laws that were created to thwart bribes to radio stations. (If you'd like to learn more about Payola, check out "Hit Men" by Fredric Dannen Ed.)

The role of the independent promoter has been severely diminished since the heyday of the 80s and early 90s when Congress deregulated the industry in 1996. In fact, two of the biggest broadcasting conglomerates, Clear Channel and Cox Radio, have ceased all interaction with middlemen. However, Spitzer may be looking into how the major labels are dealing with smaller stations that exclusively play niche genres such as Latin and Urban. Independent promoters still thrive in these markets and often receive one lump payment to promote as they see fit.

The Future: Spitzer is probably 15 years too late to really get any big convictions from the majors. He's also a little out of his jurisdiction here as well, but he may try and make the case for the little guy. Many small artists can't afford to pay an independent promoter to market their music effectively and this unfairly restricts their opportunities. However, with all that the major labels have gone through in the past few years with piracy, bootlegging, etc. is it really worth kicking the industry in the groin when they're just getting back up on their feet?

>>> Digihear? October 2004

Part of Experiments In Sound, TestDrive will feature the lab results of our DJ Experiments so that everyone can get in on the action. Take the latest electronic music releases, mix vigorously with bleeding-edge DJ technology in a large beeker, and then cook the hell out of it! Be the first to hear about TestDrive by joining Futuremusic Direct.

Futuremusic wants to thank everyone who participated in The Next Big Thing 2004. John Digweed, Beatport, Alienware, M-Audio, Native Instruments, IK Multimedia, PVDJ, PK Graphics, Ableton, The DubHouse, Propellerheads, Technics, FreeFloat, The Church, PCDJ and every DJ who entered this year's event thank you. From the sheer number of quality mixes, we can tell you that dance music is thriving in the United States. The amount of outstanding talent and creativity really blew us away, and every DJ who's putting their heart, mind and soul behind the music is a winner. John Digweed has made his decision and the winner is...