The House Judiciary Committee voted in favor of moving the American Music Fairness Act out of Committee and onto the House floor for a full vote. The bill, if enacted into law, would require radio stations to pay artists to play their music. The Bill is not expected to be approved by the current Congress.
The Judiciary Committee moved the Bill out of Committee by a voice vote so it was impossible to tell which members voted against it.
Committee Chairman Jerry Nadler started out by attacking Radio. “Artists do not receive a penny when they play their music. Terrestrial radio is allowed to use and profit off these artists for free. It’s time for this fund unfairness to be fixed.”
Radio and artists have had a successful working relationship for decades. Radio gets to play their music, in return, artists get free airplay and promotional value to millions of listeners across the country. Radio remains the most popular outlet for music for consumers and artists number one goal is to be heard on the radio because they understand it could lead to stardom and music sales. Many of the artists coming out in favor of this Bill now are hardly ever heard on the radio these days.
In response to the move NAB CEO Curtis LeGeyt said, “NAB thanks the members of the House Judiciary Committee who voted against the AMFA today, and the more than 250 members of Congress – including a majority of the House of Representatives – that support a resolution opposing this new performance royalty on local radio. These lawmakers understand that AMFA will harm local broadcasters and audiences around the country, undermine our ability to serve their communities and ultimately fail artists by leading to less music airplay. Broadcasters urge the recording industry to join us in serious discussions instead of using the few legislative days left in the calendar to pursue divisive legislation that faces broad congressional opposition.”
The NAB has said radio is willing to negotiate with the record industry as long as those negotiations include streaming costs as well. The Bill calls for the smallest of stations to pay $10.00 per year, public radio stations to pay $100 per year and stations with less than $1.5 million per year in revenue to pay $500. It’s the bigger companies like iHeart, Cumulus and Audacy that lawmakers are going after hard. A formula based an their annual revenue would determine what they would pay.
Chairman of the musicFIRST Coalition Joe Crowley said, “This is a momentous day for so many artists and music creators across this country. The House Judiciary Committee’s vote in favor of the American Music Fairness Act doesn’t just advance an important piece of legislation. It also sends a powerful message to artists everywhere that they are respected, that their work has value, and that their commitment to making the soundtrack of our lives is appreciated — not only by those who listen to their songs, but also by those who sit in positions of power in our nation’s capital. I want to thank Chairman Nadler and the members of the committee for their thoughtful consideration of the issues, and for making this moment possible. To be clear, this fight is far from over. We still have further to go before this important bill can be passed into law and improve the lives of artists across this country, and we know that Big Radio corporations will continue to oppose us every step of the way. We will keep fighting for music fairness in the weeks ahead, but this is a crucial step toward our goal, and that deserves to be recognized and celebrated.”
This Bill has no chance of passing in this lame duck session of Congress. Several members of the House Judiciary Committee even admitted that. They do expect it to come up again in the next session.
The NAB has garnered enough support against this Bill and in support of the Local Radio Freedom Act. However, the LRFA is not legislation, it is non-binding, and you never know how politicians will vote in the end.
Republican Jim Jordan, who will become the Chairman of the Committee next year said, “I don’t think this is going to pass in the next 24 days and become law. Radio is an important part of American culture. We believe there’s a deal to be struck here that’s fair to both sides.”
Radio stations concerned about this Bill may want to check out this page from the NAB HERE. To encourage your local elected officials to support free local radio GO HERE.
