Major victory for music artists, who have been denied payment for music played on AM/FM radio for 100 years
WASHINGTON – This week, congressional leaders rejected efforts by the National Association of Broadcasters (NAB) to include the AM in Every Vehicle Act in the continuing resolution (CR) to fund the federal government. The AM bill, which at one time was widely expected to be included in the spending bill, will not be part of the final version of the CR once it passes Congress. The NAB’s multi-million-dollar effort to include the AM bill in the CR faced fierce resistance from the music community, which insisted that Congress not pass the mandate without also passing the American Music Fairness Act (AMFA) at the same time.
AMFA, which has strong bipartisan support in both the House and Senate, would require radio companies to pay artists for their songs on AM/FM radio. This would bring the United States in line with every other industrialized nation that pays artists for AM/FM radio plays. AMFA would also bring AM/FM radio in line with every other platform in the U.S. that pays artists for using their music. The AM bill is directly connected to AMFA because AM radio plays over 240 million songs a year without paying artists for their work. Passing the AM bill without AMFA would have given Congress’ seal of approval to a broken system that has denied royalties to artists since the beginning of radio.
Despite a withering lobbying effort by the National Association of Broadcasters, which spent more than $3 million this year—the highest amount in six years, congressional leaders sided with artists in demanding that radio pay for the music it plays. Artists from Talking Heads’ lead singer David Byrne, country music hall-of-famer Randy Travis, and Hip-Hop luminaries MC Lyte, Darryl “DMC” McDaniels, and Melle Mel came to Capitol Hill this year to urge congressional leaders to not pass the AM bill without AMFA.
“This is a major win for all music artists across the country,” said Darryl “DMC McDaniels. “I’m grateful that congressional leadership stood up for the community of artists at this critical moment. I look forward to continuing to work with them to get Congress to finally pass the American Music Fairness Act.”
“Every working person in this country deserves to have their hard work rewarded and honored. That should include music artists whose songs are played on the radio,” said MC Lyte. “I want to thank our congressional leaders for listening to us and standing strong today. Now, let’s keep up the fight and get the American Music Fairness Act passed.”
“For over a century, the National Association of Broadcasters has been receiving one-sided benefits from Congress. Those days are over,” added SoundExchange CEO and President Michael Huppe, who testified before the House Judiciary Committee alongside country music legend, Randy Travis in June. “We’ve said all along, Congress should not pass a mandate for radio without ensuring appropriate royalties for artists. We’re grateful that lawmakers on both sides of the aisle listened to the voices of working artists – including the backup vocalists and musicians who are forced to work other jobs to survive. They deserve to have their hard work respected and valued with fair compensation – like they receive in every other industrialized country – and that will only happen when Congress finally passes the American Music Fairness Act.”
As Congress negotiated over a spending bill to keep the government open past the end of this week, the National Association of Broadcasters worked hard to convince lawmakers to attach the AM in Every Vehicle Act, which would mandate automakers to include AM radio in any new cars they manufacture. This, despite the fact that radio companies already made $15 billion in ad revenue last year without paying artists a dime for playing their music. In fact, AM/FM radio remains the only music delivery platform that legally plays music for listeners without compensating artists.
The musicFIRST Coalition, which advocates for music artists to receive fair compensation across all platforms, urged Congress instead to refuse another giveaway for Big Radio without also requiring payment for artists. The American Music Fairness Act, which has been introduced in the U.S. House by U.S. Representatives Darrell Issa (R-CA) and Jerry Nadler (D-NY), and in the U.S. Senate by Senators Alex Padilla (D-CA) and Marsha Blackburn (R-TN), offers a balanced solution that ensures music creators are fairly compensated when their songs are played on AM/FM radio and that small, independent broadcasters are able to thrive. The legislation enjoys support from a diverse coalition of artists, broadcasters, recording labels, and music lovers:
• Broadcasters, such as the Alliance for Community Media, Common Frequency, Media Alliance, the National Federation of Community Broadcasters (NFCB), Prometheus Radio Project, and REC Networks – which represent a broad coalition of community broadcasters – also support AMFA.
• Artists from Gloria Estefan and Dionne Warwick to David Byrne, Common, and Sammy Hagar – and thousands more – have voiced their support for AMFA.
• Every Democratic and Republican administration since President Carter has supported royalties for music artists.
• Americans support passing a law to give artists performance royalties for AM/FM radio plays by a 4:1 ratio.
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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