I recently went to Capitol Hill with one message: it is time for EVERYONE to pay artists what they have earned. As president and CEO of the Christian Music Trade Association, I met with Republican lawmakers and made the case for Christian and Gospel artists and artists of all genres whose music fills our AM/FM radios every day — but receive no money in return when that music is played.

From the artists just starting their careers scraping out a living to those who are well-known for their contributions to the canon of American music, none of them see a dime from those AM/FM radio plays. Not one single cent. That is not fair. And it is time to fix it.

Conservatives have long championed property rights, fair pay, and the dignity of hard work. Now is the time to put those beliefs to work for American artists.

Right now, there is a big gap in the law. Streaming services like Apple, Amazon, Spotify, and Pandora pay artists when songs are played. Satellite radio (SiriusXM) pays artists. Internet radio (including webcasts and apps from AM/FM radio stations playing the exact same programming played on their AM/FM signal) pays artists. Television and Film pays artists. AM/FM radio? Under an old loophole in the law, AM/FM radio stations can play any song they want and never pay the artist a dime, while selling advertising to boot!

The artists who suffer most are not stadium and arena headliners. The burdened artists are those who make up the backbone of American music, making music for our enjoyment or to share the Gospel while trying to feed their families.

AM/FM radio airs their music for free and sells advertising off that programming — adding insult to injury for artists who only earn a fraction of a penny per play from streaming. Streaming has largely replaced sales of CDs and other formats which provided financial support for artists over the years. Some artists cannot make it work and walk away entirely. Our musical heritage is and will be ever poorer for it unless we do something about it.

So, what can be done?

Congress has proposed to right this wrong through the American Music Fairness Act. This bill would close the old loophole in the law and require AM/FM radio to pay artists for their music, protecting small local and religious stations with very low, flat fees, yet requiring big radio companies, who earn over $14 billion annually, to pay for the music they play. Please note that the United States of America is the only industrialized nation in the world that does not provide this right for artists. Further, we are in the dubious company of countries like Iran, Cuba, and North Korea in this regard.

This is a conservative cause. Sen. Marsha Blackburn (R., Tenn.) and Rep. Darrell Issa (R., Calif.) are leading the charge. These are strong conservatives who believe in property rights. Nearly two dozen conservative groups have signed a letter asking House Speaker Mike Johnson (R., La.) and Senate Leader John Thune (R., S.D.) to support the bill. Their message is simple: all workers are worthy of their wages.

Senator Blackburn has made the point plainly: the United States is the only democratic country in the world where artists are not paid for their music on AM/FM radio. Congressman Issa, who chairs the House Judiciary Subcommittee on Intellectual Property, convened a hearing titled “100 Years of Inequity for Recording Artists” to shine a spotlight on that injustice amongst his colleagues. He also led the House Judiciary Committee to a unanimous vote in favor of the bill — a rare show of bipartisan unity.

What makes their leadership especially meaningful to the Christian and Gospel music community is their commitment to faith. Senator Blackburn is a Presbyterian and an active member of Christ Presbyterian Church in Nashville — the heart of Christian and Gospel music. Congressman Issa is an Eastern Orthodox Christian whose faith shapes his deep belief in protecting the rights of creators.

These are not politicians acting out of an agenda. They are fellow believers who understand, from their own lives, why music matters — and why the people who make it, especially up-and-coming Christian and Gospel artists, deserve to be paid.

To make sure more of their colleagues get behind this bill, I sat down with Republican members of the House Judiciary Committee, including Chairman Jim Jordan (R., Ohio) and five of his colleagues last week, advocating for artists of today and yesterday receiving airplay, as well as future creators.

The push for this bill goes all the way to the top. President Donald Trump has stood up for American creators. In his first term, he signed the Music Modernization Act. That law helped artists, songwriters, and producers get paid fairly in the digital age. The American Music Fairness Act is the next step.

Last December, the White House administration made its support clear for paying artists playing on AM/FM radio through a letter to the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) urging a change. The President and his administration have spoken often about the need to protect American creative works, and this bill fits right into that vision.

The path forward is clear. It is time for Congress to pass the American Music Fairness Act. As conservatives, we believe in property rights, fair pay, and the right of American creators to earn what they make. Whether they make Christian and Gospel music, or country, bluegrass, rock, rap, Latin, polka, jazz, alternative, kids, pop, R&B, zydeco, or any other genre of music, American artists pour their hearts into their work. They deserve to earn a real living from it — not fractions of a penny on streaming and nothing at all on radio.

Call your member of Congress today. Ask them to support the American Music Fairness Act. Tell them that our values demand nothing less. And urge President Trump to push this over the finish line. Blessings to all who read this.