Corporate broadcasters boast about big profits when talking to Wall Street, then cry poor to Congress when music creators ask to be paid for their work
Washington, DC, February 23, 2022 – Following the release of iHeartMedia’s Q4 earnings, revealing the company brought in billions of dollars in revenue during 2021, Congressman Joe Crowley, Chairman of the musicFIRST Coalition, issued the following statement:
“For years, corporate broadcasters like iHeartRadio have claimed they simply can’t afford to do the right thing and pay artists when they play their songs on AM/FM radio. But the numbers don’t lie: We now know that iHeart and other big broadcasters brought in billions in revenue last year, bouncing back from any pandemic-fueled issues. Any attempt to cry poor to Congress and pretend they can’t afford to share any amount of that money with the artists who made their profits possible is blatantly false and deeply shameful.
“This is why we need the American Music Fairness Act. It would protect truly local radio stations, while finally fixing our laws to require the big corporate broadcasters to do what we already expect from every other business in America: pay people when they use their work. Artists and music creators deserve the same dignity and respect as any other worker — and when the American Music Fairness Act is passed into law, they will finally get it.”
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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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