The effort will elevate the voices of music artists and music lovers in the fight for pay for AM/FM radio plays
Washington, DC, November 7, 2023 – musicFIRST – the voice for fairness and equity for music creators – announced today the launch of the Music Fairness Action campaign, a grassroots effort to ensure the voices of music makers and music lovers are heard in the fight to secure compensation for AM/FM radio plays.
Currently, AM/FM radio is the only music platform in the United States that doesn’t pay artists for their sound recordings. The Music Fairness Action campaign will provide a platform for music artists and their fans to elevate their voices in support of the American Music Fairness Act (AMFA) — bipartisan, bicameral legislation that would ensure music artists receive compensation for the use of their work — and communicate their views to Members of Congress.
You can view the Music Fairness Action campaign website at www.musicfairnessaction.com.
“Everyone deserves to be paid for their work. Period. No ifs, ands, or buts about it. That’s a bedrock American value that most people in this country stand by. And that’s why artists across genres and generations — from Frank Sinatra to Common to Randy Travis, Becky G, and so many others — have been speaking out in support of fair pay for AM/FM radio plays for decades,” said Dionne Warwick, GRAMMY Award-winning music legend. “This injustice has gone on for too long. I’ve been fighting this fight since the ‘80s, and others were fighting long before me. It’s time to finally right this wrong. I urge my fellow music makers and music lovers to join me in calling on Congress to pass the American Music Fairness Act.”
The launch of the Music Fairness Action campaign coincides with Music Fairness Awareness Month, an annual effort by music creators throughout the month of November to bring attention to a decades-long injustice that denies artists fair pay for their work on AM/FM radio in the United States.
The AMFA was re-introduced at the start of the year by Representatives Darrell Issa (R-CA) and Jerry Nadler (D-NY) and Senators Alex Padilla (D-CA) and Marsha Blackburn (R-TN) in the Senate, and would finally require large broadcast corporations to pay performance royalties to creators for AM/FM radio plays, just as all other digital and streaming platforms do. Notably, the bill includes broad exemptions for small, college and non-commercial stations, which would enable these stations to play unlimited music for no more than $500 per year — less than $2 per day.
“The United States is the only democratic country in the world where artists are not paid when their music is played on AM/FM radio. We’re currently lumped in with the likes of Iran and North Korea when it comes to perpetuating this injustice — and that’s not the type of company that America ever wants to keep,” said Senator Mark Pryor, Co-Chairman of the musicFIRST Coalition. “As we celebrate Music Fairness Awareness Month once again, we’re proud to stand with and elevate the voices of the musicians behind the music we love. It’s time for Big Radio to compensate these hardworking artists for the use of their intellectual property, just as we expect of every other industry and music platform.”
The legislation is widely supported by artists, community broadcasters and their allies, worker advocates and labor unions, as well as the American public. According to a recent poll commissioned by musicFIRST, roughly 6 in 10 voters (59% say they would support Congress passing a new law that would require broadcasters to pay artists when their music is played on AM/FM radio, such as the AMFA. Only 15% would not support such a law.
Visit the Music Fairness Action website here and learn more about the AMFA’s provisions here.
For more information, please visit the musicFIRST website at www.musicfirstcoalition.org and follow the coalition on Twitter at @musicFIRST.
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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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