WASHINGTON – 58 major recording artists – including Gene Simmons, Mariah Carey, Barbra Streisand, Lee Greenwood, Smokey Robinson, P!nk, Celine Dion, Carole King, James Taylor, Jason Aldean, and Jelly Roll – sent a letter to congressional leaders Tuesday evening asking them to pass the American Music Fairness Act (H.R.861/S.326) without delay.

“In 2020, the European Court of Justice ruled that radio stations in the EU had to start paying American performers. Since then, billions in European radio royalties have flowed back to U.S. musicians – not only household names, but backup singers and session musicians, too. That money is now at risk,” Simmons writes in today’s Wall Street Journal. “Earlier this month, the European Commission opened a formal proceeding to undo it under the banner of ‘material reciprocity’ – a fancy way of saying that if American broadcasters won’t pay artists, neither will European ones. If it becomes law, vital money will stop flowing to American artists.”

Europe is taking this step because the United States remains the only democracy that does not pay performers for AM/FM radio airplay. Unless Congress acts to close the AM/FM radio loophole, American artists may soon be shut out of the European radio market even as their foreign colleagues continue to receive royalties.

“For decades, the United States has stood alongside Cuba, North Korea, and Iran as the only nations on earth that do not pay performers when their music is broadcast on AM/FM radio,” the artists wrote in their letter. “With Europe now seriously considering closing this door, the cost of inaction grows by the day.”

The American Music Fairness Act will close the AM/FM radio loophole and require corporate broadcasters to pay performers when they profit from their music — just as streaming services, satellite radio, and digital platforms already do. The bill protects small, local, and community broadcasters, which could play unlimited music for less than $2 a day, and exempts public, college, religious, and noncommercial stations.

The bill is narrowly targeted at the giant corporate broadcast conglomerates that collect billions in advertising revenue each year without paying the artists who make their business possible. The American people support paying artists for radio airplay by a 6-to-1 margin, and every Democratic and Republican administration over the past 50 years has endorsed a performance right for sound recordings.

The full list of artists signing the letter:

Aerosmith • Barbra Streisand • Belinda Carlisle • Billy Idol • Bonnie Raitt • Boyz II Men • Carly Simon • Carole King • Celine Dion • Cyndi Lauper • Darius Rucker • Darryl “DMC” McDaniels • David Foster • Dee Snider • Def Leppard • Don McLean • Duran Duran • Foreigner • Gavin Rossdale • Gene Simmons • Gloria Estefan • Gloria Gaynor • Hootie & The Blowfish • Huey Lewis • Jackson Browne • James Taylor • Jason Aldean • Jason Mraz • Jefferson Starship • Jelly Roll • Joan Jett • Josh Groban • Julian Lennon • Katharine McPhee • Kool and the Gang • LeAnn Rimes • Lee Ann Womack • Lee Greenwood • Lil Jon • Lisa Loeb • Master P • Mariah Carey • MC Lyte • Melle Mel • Mickey Guyton • Mike Love • Mýa • Nancy Wilson • Peter Frampton • P!nk • Randy Travis • R.E.M. • Sammy Hagar • Sarah McLachlan • Smokey Robinson • Steve Miller • TLC • Tori Amos

The full text of the letter is below and a PDF is available here.

About the musicFIRST Coalition

The musicFIRST Coalition works to ensure music creators get fair pay for their work on all platforms, whenever and however it is played. musicFIRST believes in the immense power of music — to make us think, make us move, and bring us together. Music creators deserve compensation when their work is used by AM/FM radio stations that profit from it. Learn more at musicfirstcoalition.org.

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July 14, 2026

The Honorable Mike Johnson
Speaker of the House
U.S. House of Representatives
Washington, DC 20515

The Honorable Hakeem Jeffries
House Minority Leader
U.S. House of Representatives
Washington, DC 20515

The Honorable John Thune
Senate Majority Leader
U.S. Senate
Washington, DC 20510

The Honorable Chuck Schumer
Senate Minority Leader
U.S. Senate
Washington, DC 20510

Dear Speaker Johnson, Leader Jeffries, Leader Thune, and Leader Schumer:

Across the Atlantic, the European Union is moving to slam shut a door that, in recent years, has been one of the only avenues through which American performers received any form of compensation when our music was played on the radio overseas. Only Congress has the power to keep that door open. We write today to urge that you do so by passing the American Music Fairness Act (H.R.861/S.326) before more of our work is locked out of the global marketplace.

For decades, the United States has stood alongside Cuba, North Korea, and Iran as the only nations on earth that do not pay performers when their music is broadcast on AM/FM radio. Due to this loophole, foreign countries often withhold royalties from American artists under the principle of material reciprocity: if we don’t pay their artists, they will not pay ours.

A 2020 ruling by the European Court of Justice temporarily reopened that pipeline, ordering EU member states to pay American performers. But that reprieve may end soon. In recent weeks, the European Commission has initiated steps to restore material reciprocity throughout the continent, meaning that unless Congress acts, American performers could soon be denied payments across the European radio market.

American music remains our country’s most successful cultural export. Our songs dominate playlists in Paris, Berlin, Madrid, Stockholm, and Dublin. And yet, because the U.S. stands alone among developed economies in refusing to recognize a performance right on terrestrial radio, more than $287 million in annual royalties from Europe is now poised to be cut off. That is on top of the hundreds of millions of dollars already withheld from American artists by the rest of the world every year for the same reason.

The good news is that Congress can easily fix this.

The American Music Fairness Act closes the AM/FM radio loophole and requires corporate radio broadcasters to pay artists when they profit from our music, just as streaming services, satellite radio, and digital platforms do.

Every other platform pays for music. Every other developed country pays for music. American AM/FM radio, a multi-billion-dollar industry, still gets to use our work for free.

This is not a controversial issue. The American Music Fairness Act is a balanced, bipartisan proposal that is built to protect what radio does best. Small, local, and community broadcasters would be able to play unlimited music for less than $2 a day. Public, college, religious, and noncommercial stations are also protected. The bill is narrowly targeted at the giant corporate broadcasters that rake in billions each year in advertising revenue without paying the performers, background vocalists, and session musicians who made those songs possible in the first place. That’s why every Democratic and Republican administration in the last 50 years has supported a performance right for sound recordings, and the American people today support this solution by a 6-to-1 margin.

Passing the American Music Fairness Act is a chance to do right by American artists at home and protect the royalties we already receive from Europe. It would also unlock hundreds of millions of dollars from countries that are still refusing to pay Americans. That money belongs to the artists who make up the backbone of our industry. With Europe now seriously considering closing this door, the cost of inaction grows by the day. We urge you to bring the American Music Fairness Act to the floor and pass it without delay.

Thank you for your leadership and your consideration. We look forward to working with you and your staff to finally make U.S. law match the simple promise our work has always carried: when someone plays our music, the artists who created it should get paid.

Sincerely,

Aerosmith

Barbra Streisand

Belinda Carlisle

Billy Idol

Bonnie Raitt

Boyz II Men

Carly Simon

Carole King

Celine Dion

Cyndi Lauper

Darius Rucker

Darryl “DMC” McDaniels

David Foster

Dee Snider

Def Leppard

Don McLean

Duran Duran

Foreigner

Gavin Rossdale

Gene Simmons

Gloria Estefan

Gloria Gaynor

Hootie & The Blowfish

Huey Lewis

Jackson Browne

James Taylor

Jason Aldean

Jason Mraz

Jefferson Starship

Jelly Roll

Joan Jett

Josh Groban

Julian Lennon

Katharine McPhee

Kool and the Gang

LeAnn Rimes

Lee Ann Womack

Lee Greenwood

Lil Jon

Lisa Loeb

Mariah Carey

Master P

MC Lyte

Melle Mel

Mickey Guyton

Mike Love

Mýa

Nancy Wilson

Peter Frampton

P!nk

Randy Travis

R.E.M.

Sammy Hagar

Sarah McLachlan

Smokey Robinson

Steve Miller

TLC

Tori Amos