How to escape hip-hop CD giveaway scam in New York City?

Tell them you don't have a CD player; it's 2017. Don't make eye contact and keep walking.

If you have a cell phone, take it out and call 911. When the operator answers, say "I am being harassed by an unlicensed peddler." At this point, they will likely disappear.

In case you are reluctant to call the emergency number for something that you may not view as an emergency, here's a page on the New York City website that explicitly instructs you to do so:

The City accepts reports of illegal peddlers or vendors operating without a license in a restricted area. In addition, you can report peddlers or vendors who are currently blocking crosswalks, traffic or ATMs, or otherwise causing a hazard or nuisance.

Call 911 to report a vendor causing a hazard or nuisance.

Disclaimer: this technique is untested. If I get a chance to test it, I'll come back and edit this answer.

In case you have not seen it, there is a New York Times article on the practice in which the reporter describes getting his hands on a CD by purchasing it from a tourist (after a scammer refused to sell him one). The CD was blank, so in addition to the other crimes being committed there may also be fraud.

Related to the string bracelets in Europe ...

What's the deal with the "string people" in central Paris?

Be assertive and just say NO (be as polite as possible) and be on you way.

Do not engage with them, keep your hands on your valuables, and walk away.

If feeling threatened, enter a store/restaurant, or other safe(r) space.

Simply act confident, say "nah bruh i'm good" and just keep walking or ignore them. They are used to it, they aren't going to waste their time harassing someone they don't think is a mark, and they aren't going to risk getting arrested for assaulting some dude who did what a hundred people have already done to them that day: ignore them.

I avoid it by not stepping foot in New York. But for those who lack that option, as with similar kinds of people I've encountered in parts of Marrakech, Sydney, Lima, Saigon, Miami, and many other cities, the answer is much the same as for the recent question How to get rid of the men who ask for money in Milan? — you must not engage in any way from the start.

This is difficult for a polite person to do, especially if your cultural background has a lot of greeting-related etiquette. It took me years, as an American who is accustomed to chatting with total strangers in line at a Starbucks. But if you so much as look up at them, they see it as an opening.

Do not say hello. Do not reply to good evening. Do not stop. Do not say thank you if they compliment your clothes. Do not make eye contact. Do not smile. Do not turn when they mention their sick daughter. Put your hands in your pockets; all the better so that they cannot hand anything to you, and to foil any would-be pickpockets associated with them or not. If they put something in your hand, put it back on the ground. If they grab your arm, pull away. If they get right in your face so that you cannot ignore them, give a firm no, I am not interested, repeated as necessary.

There is no need to be loud or violent or belligerent, just confident. If I see this kind of activity on a street and cannot avoid it, I will stop and put in my headphones (without even playing music) to make them easier to ignore. Once they figure out that they are wasting their time with you, they will move on to someone else.

There are lots of answers here and, I would think from the content, not from people who see scams frequently. Your attention is taken by them - it happens. Here is your BEST reaction:

Say "No", immediately LOSE EYE CONTACT and walk away. Do NOT be courteous. Do NOT say "No thankyou." Do NOT give any reason or excuse. Do NOT engage in ANY form of conversation. Just WALK AWAY without looking back.

They will not be following - they will be harassing the next person behind you.

If you engage on any level, they will coerce money from you. If they see your wallet, you've pretty much lost the day.

don't wait for the signal, cross in the other direction until you can cross the way you want to go

Life-Long NY'er here:

How can one escape this situation safely without giving out any money?

1) Don't dress like a tourist - that makes you a target.

2) You do what we do in NYC: IGNORE. Behave like a robot - you do not see them, hear them or have awareness of them. Just go about your business as if they are not there.

When in Rome, do as the Romans do; When in NYC, do as the NY'ers do