04 May QUICK RESPONSE BY BROADCASTER PREVENTS OFCOM FINE

Ofcom has ruled to take no further action in relation to a breach of the Ofcom Broadcasting Code by former Capital XTRA radio host DJ Tiiny who was found to be soliciting payments in return for featuring tracks on his weekly radio show.

So called “pay-for-play deals” are explicitly prohibited by section 10.5 of the Code which forbids commercial arrangements to influence the selection or rotation of music for broadcast. In January the producer “J Beatz Music” revealed a screenshot via Twitter of an email allegedly from DJ Tiiny stating, “If you wish for [your] track to be premiered on my Friday night radio show, there would be a charge of £200 for one track,” and that “[t]his would also include keeping the track within my radio playlist for 2 weeks.”

Considering the matter resolved, Ofcom found that Global, owners of Capital XTRA, had acted clearly and expeditiously in dealing with the breach. In a demonstration of their zero-tolerance approach to his behaviour, DJ Tiiny’s contract was terminated the day after the allegations were published, online references to his material were deleted and his show removed from the broadcast schedule. Ofcom noted that broadcasters can only minimise the risk of employees or freelancers independently engaging in pay-for-play agreements.

Publicly apologising in February, DJ Tiiny took to Twitter to say, “I was given an incredible opportunity within radio and carelessly and irresponsibly took advantage of my position… I take full responsibility for my actions and fully accept the consequences.”