In case you missed the news, Sony BMG has admitted to giving payola to radio stations.
Eliot Spitzer says it best:
…instead of airing music based upon the quality, based upon artistic competition, based upon aesthetic judgments or other judgments that are being made by radio stations — radio stations are airing music because they have been paid to do so in a way that has not been disclosed to the public. This is wrong, and it is illegal.
Basically, Sony BMG was paying radio stations to play their artist’s music. They even went so far as to have interns and outside firms that they’d hired call in and make requests to boost their artists.
I know how you feel here. I too was shocked to hear that one of my favorite, consumer oriented, and just all around caring record companies would participate in such an activity. (In case you haven’t been following the record company’s anti-piracy efforts over the years, it’s quite evident that they really, really, don’t care what they do and who they do it to in order to get their way. )
At least they’re being fined $10 million for their troubles.
Oh, and don’t forget the radio stations as well. It’s hard to say what ones were involved (since I haven’t bothered to try and look.. 
), but they’re pretty much just as bad. Any station that was involved in this proves that they don’t care what their listeners want to hear.