Local Radio Freedom Act Returns For Another Try In Congress, Senate

Act's Back

If at first (and second, and third, and...) you don't succeed, try, try again, which means that it's once again time for the Local Radio Freedom Act to be introduced in the House and Senate. The bill, which has been introduced several times in recent years and has yet to gain passage, opposes "any new performance fee, tax, royalty, or other charge" on local broadcast radio stations.

This year, 124 members of Congress and five Senators have signed on as initial co-sponsors, with Reps. KATHY CASTOR (D-FL) and MICHAEL CONAWAY (R-TX) as House principal co-sponsors (H. Con. Res. 20) and Sens. JOHN BARASSO (R-WY) and MARTIN HEINRICH (D-NM) introducing the bill in the Senate (S. Con. Res. 5).

"AMERICA’s hometown broadcasters are deeply grateful for this broad, bipartisan display of Congressional support for the Local Radio Freedom Act,” said NAB President and CEO GORDON SMITH. “Decade after decade, free radio airplay has propelled the careers of countless performing artists and generated hundreds of millions in revenue for the record labels. We thank lawmakers for standing in opposition to a job-killing performance royalty that threatens to destroy the economics of local radio."

The bill reads, "Congress should not impose any new performance fee, tax, royalty, or other charge relating to the public performance of sound recordings on a local radio station for broadcasting sound recordings over the air, or on any business for the public performance of sound recordings on a local radio station broadcast over the air."

« see more Net News