The New York State Attorney General has settled his payola case against Universal Music Group, the world’s biggest record company, for a payout of $12 million to not-for-profit music education programs and a promise of corporate-wide reforms.

The best thing about these payola settlements, however, are the juicy documents made public. Check out the UMG Assurance of Discontinuance (the narrative) and the UMG Exhibits of Discontinuance (the evidence), which detail the bribes and payouts records company promotions departments made to radio stations across the country—including right here in the Triangle.
Among the stations mentioned in the documents are WQOK (K97.5), a hip-hop station owned by the Radio One chain, and WZFX (Foxy 99.1), an urban format station owned by the Beasely Broadcast Group.

Now the question is, will Carolina homeboy Kevin Martin, Chairman of the Federal Communications Commission, follow through with an investigation into those stations?

From your Secretary of State:

Second Annual North Carolina Beach Music Day Returning to the Capitol

RALEIGH, NC – The scent of suntan lotion and the sounds of coastal rhythms will return to
downtown Raleigh on Tuesday, May 16.

The Second Annual North Carolina Beach Music Day is coming to the State Capitol grounds
starting at noon Tuesday. The three-hour long event features a lineup of legendary singers and
musicians from those whose careers go back to the start of Carolina-style beach music to new
artists who are helping young people rediscover it today.

“This is our unique, signature sound of the Carolinas, and really part of our culture,” North
Carolina Secretary of State Elaine F. Marshall said Thursday. “Beach Music Day continues to
celebrate that great past and to reach out to new audiences,” Secretary Marshall said. “It’s a great
thing that this event is becoming a new downtown Raleigh tradition every spring.”

Secretary Marshall, a beach music fan, is a board member of Beach Music Association
International, the association hosting the event. The event is free and open to the public and
alcohol free.

Performers and bands scheduled to appear at the Capitol include: Bill Pinkney; the Holiday Band;
Members of the Tams; Dee Dee Kenniebrew of the Crystals; The Embers; The Orioles; Clifford
Curry; Gold Rush; Craig Woolard; Herbert Hardesty (Fats Domino’s Band Leader); Dave
Freeman; the Calabash Flash; D.K. Davis; Billy Scott; Susan and Donny Trexler; Casey York;
Stacy Mitchart; Shaggy Maggie; John Goudy; and possibly other North Carolina bands.

After Beach Music Day, Tuesday evening there will be a follow-up jam session at the Sheraton
Raleigh Capital Center Hotel at 421 South Salisbury Street beginning at 8 PM with The Embers
and many other guest artists.

The goal of Beach Music Association International is to broaden Beach Music’s appeal to a wider
audience by organizing various elements of Beach Music, supporting and promoting those in the
industry, working with state legislators, remembering and honoring Beach Music’s pioneers,
bringing diverse people together in a harmonious manner and educating the public and young
people to assure that this music will be carried on to future generations.

Organizations helping to sponsor this North Carolina Beach Music celebration include the North
Carolina Farm Bureau, Blue Cross Blue Shield of North Carolina, North Carolina’s Touchstone
Energy Cooperatives, WakeMed, Pepsi, the North Carolina Association of Community
Pharmacists, Capital Ford, Red’s Beach Club, Party City, Silver Coast Wines, and The Heritage
Bank.

In the event of rain, the concert will be moved from the Capitol grounds to the NC Museum of
History at 5 East Edenton Street.

Editor’s Note:

For more information on the event itself, please contact Billy Scott at 919-271-7794 or Harry
Turner at 843-280-4809. You may also log onto their website at www.bmai.net.

If you would like to further discuss the importance of beach music to the culture of North
Carolina with Secretary of State Elaine Marshall, please contact Liz Proctor or George Jeter at
the numbers at the top of this release.

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www.sosnc.com
P.O. Box 29622, Raleigh, NC 27626-0622