Apparently a modified version of the Music Modernization Act was circulated on Capitol Hill Friday, September 14 with a fast-tracked vote possible this week. And, the bill could be approved without any of the changes SiriusXM has been asking for. And that”s good for radio.
Digital Music News was first to uncover the sneaky move on Capitol Hill
A vote called ‘hotlining,’ gives a bill a quick vote – otherwise known as unanimous consent – and bypasses the normal review process for a bill. All 100 senators must vote yes. Over 70 senators have voiced publicly that they support the MMA.
SiriusXM has been trying to modify the bill, or delay a vote. And a big reason for that is that in this bill, radio stations will continue to receive an exemption on broadcast recordings and Sirius will not. And the Satelite company says that’s not fair to them. And if this bill does pass, it’s clear that the hard lobbying work done by the NAB will have paid off.
Sirius also wants all of its payments to labels be automatically split 50% with artists.
If the Senate does approve the bill, it would need to go back to The House for approval, because it’s been modified, then on to The White House.
“Everyone pays to play in 2018 and that includes radio …”
Radio pays when it streams just like everyone else. Nobody else has payola laws to deal with. Nobody else has FCC regulations to deal with. No one else has ownership limits. Eliminate one of those things, and that might put radio on a level playing field. It’s really up to Congress, and Congress has decided to leave radio alone.
Clearly, the world has changed but the rules don’t reflect that. Radio should pay its share as new entities that are now part of the contingent of companies broadcasting today must. The free ride from decades ago is over and should be. Everyone pays to play in 2018 and that includes radio …