Bipartisan, Bicameral Group Refiles Radio Royalty Bill
A bipartisan, bicameral group of lawmakers reintroduced legislation Thursday that would require radio stations to pay performance royalties for radio airplay to owners of sound recordings (see 2212120049). Introduced by Sens. Marsha Blackburn, R-Tenn.; Alex Padilla and Dianne Feinstein, both…
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D-Calif.; and Thom Tillis, R-N.C.; and Reps. Jerry Nadler, D-N.Y., and Darrell Issa, R-Calif., the American Music Fairness Act requires “terrestrial radio broadcasters to pay royalties to American music creators when they play their songs.” It allows small and local stations that have less than $1.5 million annual revenue and whose parent companies have less than $10 million annual revenue overall to play unlimited music for less than $500 annually. SoundExchange, musicFIRST, the Recording Academy, the Recording Industry Association of America and the American Federation of Musicians endorsed the bill. NAB CEO Curtis LeGeyt said in a statement: "Local radio stations and performers have built a strong, mutually beneficial partnership that has endured for over a century. This partnership provides enormous value for new and established performers, local broadcast stations and the tens of millions of radio listeners that rely on our uniquely free service. Unfortunately, AMFA would destroy that relationship with a new government-imposed performance fee that is simply untenable for local radio."