That’s what Barry Massarsky told the House Judiciary committee this week during its hearing to discuss the Respecting Artists with the American Music Fairness Act.
Massarsky is a Partner and Co-Leader of Music Economics and Valuation Services Practice for Citrin Cooperman Advisors. He was brought in by the committee to let everyone know it’s his opinion that radio can afford to pay artists to air their music.
Massarsky told the committee his research showed that radio plays 714 million unlicensed recordings every year. “Radio uses music to promote its stations and their argument that its promotion for artists is shattered. Only 36% of radio spins are new, 53% are gold, and that’s growing.” Massarsky said new music is being discovered on other platforms so radio’s argument that it has a win-win relationship with artists is no longer rational.
Radio has long argued that artists get promotional value from their songs being played on the radio. That results in higher album sales, bigger concert audiences, which makes them more money. Some artists – especially older artists – claim the pandemic has changed how fans attend concerts and album sales are not what they used to be when radio was the only platform.
The bill being pushed by the Judiciary committee calls for a $10 fee on the smallest of broadcasters and college radio stations, those that generate $100,000 in revenue or less. Stations that generate over $100,000 and less than $1.5 million would pay $500 per year. The rate for stations above $1.5 million would be determined by a panel of rate judges. The money would be distributed by a third-party company like Sound Exchange.
When asked if radio stations could afford to pay the rates Massarsky repeatedly said “yes, absolutely.”
To date we have not seen any current artists come out in favor of the Respecting Artists with the American Music Fairness Act. It has been a handful of artists who have hits in the past and get very little airplay on the radio today.
More of our coverage of this issue HERE.
Read Deborah’s column on the issue HERE.
See where your elected representatives stand on the NAB’s LRFA HERE.
“Massarsky told the committee his research showed that radio plays 714 million unlicensed recordings every year.”
That’s not true. All of the music radio plays is licensed. That’s what the Radio Music Licensing Committee does. This is not a radio problem. If it was, record labels could sue radio for illegally playing their music. Instead record labels spend millions on promotion departments whose only job is to get airplay for their music. Why was that not mentioned in this hearing?
The courts ruled back in the 1930s that radio stations don’t need licenses to play recordings. Buying a record gives you a license to play it any way you want, including on the radio. Read the Paul Whiteman vs. WNEW decision.
more fees…fees on top of fees….a mountain of fees..this Barry guy should get a real job