The Sanitation Department in New York City is cracking down on illegal poster advertisements and has found its biggest victim to date-a 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.
