More than 200 musicians and songwriters lobbied Congress on Thursday
to pass legislation that would make terrestrial radio broadcasters pay
performance royalties when their songs are aired.
The
proposal, co-sponsored by Rep. Marsha Blackburn, R-Brentwood, is a
priority for the Recording Academy, whose members say such a law would
bring the U.S. more into line with the rest of the world, keep pace with
changes in the technology of music consumption and fairly compensate
artists whenever AM or FM radio plays their songs.
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“Their
product is still being used as a product that an entity profits from
— they’re making money on it — but the individual that created that
product doesn’t get any share of that,” Blackburn said Thursday.
Blackburn
and Rep. Jerrold Nadler, D-N.Y., are sponsoring the Fair Play Fair Pay Act, which would end the practice among AM and FM radio stations of not
paying royalties to artists and labels, based on the premise that radio
play is a form of promotion and drives record sales.
