Pelosi, Durbin Back Fair Pay for Radio Airplay

Posted April 21, 2010
1:15 PM PST

Join growing bipartisan chorus in support of Performance Rights Act

WASHINGTON, April 21, 2010—The musicFIRST Coalition today announced that House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin have added their voices to the growing, bipartisan chorus of support in favor of the Performance Rights Act, which would ensure that artists, musicians and rights holders are paid when their music is played radio stations.  This comes on the heel of statements of support for musician royalties from the Obama Administration as well as support for a performance right royalty from Grover Norquist, anti-tax advocate and President of Americans for Tax Reform.  This support was highlighted in an ad in today’s Roll Call, which was paid for by the musicFIRST Coalition, and can be viewed here.
 
“Artists deserve to be compensated for their work and rewarded for their contributions to our economy and our culture…You have an army of advocates standing by your side – from both parties – on Capitol Hill,” said House Speaker Nancy Pelosi in remarks made last week at the annual GRAMMY on the Hill advocacy day sponsored by The Recording Academy.  “Whether it’s Chairman Howard Berman; or GRAMMYs on the Hill award winners Senator Durbin and Congressman Issa; or artists leading the charge – the rights of performers are not forgotten.  I look forward to working with these leaders and with Chairman Conyers to find a way forward on the issue of performers’ rights.” 

Senator Durbin recently announced that he will add his name as a cosponsor of the Performance Rights Act, S. 379, in the Senate, and the Obama Administration also sent a letter to Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Patrick Leahy calling the issue "a matter of fundamental fairness to performers."   In addition, the issue recently gained renewed support from individuals and groups such as the NAACP, the Progress and Freedom Foundation, former House Majority Leader Dick Armey, and Citizens Against Government Waste. 

“AM and FM radio stations earn billions every year in ad revenue.  They enjoy the free use of the public airwaves worth tens of billions of dollars. Yet they don’t pay a single penny to the artists and musicians who bring music to life and listeners’ ears to the radio dial.  It’s unfair.  It’s unjust.  And it’s going to change,” said Jennifer Bendall, Executive Director of the musicFIRST Coalition.

A copy of Speaker Pelosi’s remarks at GRAMMYs on the Hill is available here. 

Watch Speaker Pelosi and Senator Durbin’s remarks here.

Read the Obama Administration’s letter here.

The goal of the musicFIRST (Fairness in Radio Starting Today) Coalition is to ensure that aspiring performers, local musicians and well-known artists are compensated for their music when it is played both today and in the future. Of all the ways we listen to music, corporate radio is the only one that receives special treatment. Corporate radio has a free pass to play music – refusing to pay even a fraction of a penny to the performers that brought it to life. The musicFIRST (Fairness in Radio Starting Today) Coalition is committed to making sure everyone, from up-and-coming artists to our favorites from years-ago, is guaranteed Fair Pay for Air Play.

For more information on the musicFIRST (Fairness in Radio Starting Today) Coalition please visit www.musicFIRSTcoalition.org.  Supporting organizations include: American Association of Independent Music (A2IM), American Federation of Musicians (AFM), American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (AFTRA), Christian Music Trade Association (CMTA), Music Managers Forum - USA (MMF- USA), The Latin Recording Academy, The Recording Academy, The Rhythm & Blues Foundation, Inc, Recording Artists’ Coalition (RAC), Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), Society of Singers, SoundExchange and Vocal Group Hall of Fame.

 

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