Corporate Broadcasters Boast About Their Profits To Wall Street, While Also Telling Congress They Can’t Afford To Pay Artists Their Fair Share
Washington, DC, February 28, 2023 – Following the the release of iHeartMedia’s Q4 earnings, Congressman Joe Crowley, Chairman of the musicFIRST Coalition, issued the following statement:
“Today, iHeart spent yet another earnings call crowing about its profits to Wall Street. And yet, even as we speak, the company’s lobbying machine is descending upon the Capitol in a desperate attempt to convince lawmakers that the radio giant can’t afford to pay artists for the use of their music on AM/FM radio.
Beyond the blatant hypocrisy of these conflicting actions, it’s downright unjust that iHeart and other broadcasting behemoths have never paid a single penny to the music artists who make their entire business model possible. In every other democratic nation in the world, artists are paid when their songs get played on AM/FM radio. Digital and streaming platforms already compensate artists here at home as well. Despite these facts, Big Radio continues to oppose the American Music Fairness Act — a bipartisan piece of legislation supported by music creators, community broadcasters and the American public — that will ensure artists are compensated for the use of their work and protect small radio stations by providing them with the predictability and affordability they need to survive and thrive.
It’s time to hold greedy broadcasters like iHeart accountable, just as we would any other industry. Passing the American Music Fairness Act will level the playing field and do right by both the artists who make the soundtrack to our lives and the small broadcasters who serve our communities.”
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About musicFIRST
musicFIRST works to ensure music creators get fair pay for their work on all platforms and wherever and however it is played. We rally the people and organizations who make and love music to end the broken status quo that allows AM/FM to use any song ever recorded without paying its performers a dime. And to stand up for fair pay on digital radio — and whatever comes next.
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