The Sanitation Department in New York City is cracking
down on illegal poster advertisements and has found its
biggest victim to date-a record record $100,000 fine paid
by Jay-Z‘s Roc-A-Fella
imprint.
New York City
officials have cracked down on illegal stickers and posters,
as the music industry has recognized their marketing and
promotional power.
Roc-A-Fella
is appealing the decision, but under city law has to pay
the fine before they can do so. There were 2,000 summons
against the label for illegal posters, each carrying a
$50 fine.
"It is
by far our biggest poster-law violation," Assistant
Sanitation Commissioner Anne Marie Santangelo told the
New York Daily News. "We are trying to send a message.
We are hoping we can deter people from doing this."
"Without
warning, the city issued to Roc-A-Fella the largest amount
of summonses ever issued to a record company. Being the
proverbial law-abiding citizen, Roc-A-Fella paid,"
said a lawyer for the label, Robert Kalina.
"Roc-A-Fella
Records does not put up posters as a marketing device,"
Kalina said.
Until the
Roc-A-Fella fine, the largest fine for illegal posters
was $67,500, paid by five music labels in August for marketing
rapper Jay-Z. Warner Music Group paid $25,000 in October
for signs touting Busta Rhymes.