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 NEWS  Federal  Communications  Commission  445  12  th  Street,  S.  W.  Washington,  D.  C.  20554  This  is  an  unofficial  announcement  of  Commission  action.  Release  of  the  full  text  of  a  Commission  order  constitutes  official  action.  See  MCI  v.  FCC.  515  F  2d  385  (D.  C.  Circ  1974).  News  Media  Information  202  /  418-  0500  Internet:  http://  www.  fcc.  gov  TTY:  1-  888-  835-  5322 
 FOR  IMMEDIATE  RELEASE  NEWS  MEDIA  CONTACT:  August  8,  2005  Catherine  Bohigian  at  (202)  418-  1000 
 STATEMENT  OF  FCC  CHAIRMAN  KEVIN  J.  MARTIN 
 I  am  very  concerned  about  the  activities  that  led  the  New  York  Attorney  General  to  investigate  Sony  BMG  Music  Entertainment  and  ultimately  resulted  in  a  settlement  agreement 
 with  that  company. 
 The  FCC  has  longstanding  rules  prohibiting  payola.  These  rules  serve  the  important  purpose  of  ensuring  that  the  listening  public  knows  when  someone  is  seeking  to  influence  them. 
 Broadcasters  must  comply  with  these  rules.  The  Commission  will  not  tolerate  non-  compliance.  While  payola  may  not  be  a  widespread  practice  in  the  broadcasting  industry,  to  the  extent  it  is 
 going  on,  it  must  stop. 
 I  have  directed  the  Enforcement  Bureau  to  review  the  settlement  agreement  reached  by  Sony  BMG  and  the  New  York  Attorney  General  and  investigate  any  incidents  in  which  the 
 agreement  discloses  evidence  of  payola  rule  violations.  If  the  Bureau  determines  violations  of  the  payola  rules  have  occurred,  the  Commission  will  take  swift  action.  In  addition,  if  the  Bureau 
 is  presented  with  evidence  of  payola  rule  violations  outside  of  the  Sony  BMG  Music  Entertainment  settlement,  it  is  to  thoroughly  investigate  those  complaints  as  well. 
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