Opposing Radio Performance Royalty Bills Add Co-Sponsors ... And Four House Members Co-Sponsor Both

Competing Bills

Days after the NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF BROADCASTERS touted the addition of 11 more members of the U.S. HOUSE of REPRESENTATIVES as co-sponsors of the 2021 version of the Local Radio Freedom Act, the bill that opposes "any new performance fee, tax, royalty or other charge" on local broadcast radio stations, musicFIRST countered with the news that four of the bill's HOUSE co-sponsors are also co-sponsoring the American Music Fairness Act, the bill that calls for the radio industry to pay performance royalties for the music it plays.

The four legislators playing both sides of the fence are Reps. DWIGHT EVANS (D-PA), GREGORY MEEKS (D-NY), BOBBY RUSH (D-IL), and ALBIO SIRES (D-NJ), with musicFIRST terming the competing Local Radio Freedom Act a "symbolic" non-binding resolution and the American Music Fairness Act "legislation poised to become law this year." Lead sponsors of the bill are Reps. TED DEUTCH (D-FL) and DARRELL ISSA (R-CA), with HOUSE JUDICIARY COMMITTEE Chairman JERRY NADLER (D-NY) as a key backer.

Meanwhile, new co-sponsors of the Local Radio Freedom Act are Reps. CLIFF BENTZ (R-OR), MIKE CAREY (R-OH), DAN CRENSHAW (R-TX), PAT FALLON (R-TX), ANDREW GARBARINO (R-NY), BILL HUIZENGA (R-MI), TRACEY MANN (R-KS), KATHY MANNING (D-NC), MARY MILLER (R-IL), AUSTIN SCOTT (R-GA), and CHRIS SMITH (R-NJ). That bill now has 208 co-sponsors in the HOUSE and 24 in the SENATE. Reps. KATHY CASTOR (D-FL) and STEVE WOMACK (R-AR) are the original sponsors in the HOUSE, and Sens. JOHN BARRASSO (R-WY) and MARTIN HEINRICH (D-NM) are the original SENATE sponsors.

“We’re encouraged by the growing support for the American Music Fairness Act in CONGRESS,” said former Rep. JOE CROWLEY, now Chairman of musicFIRST. “The big broadcasters will try to say that you can’t stand for music fairness and support local radio, but my former colleagues have shown that that’s simply not true. By cosponsoring both, they’re sending a strong message: You can fight for artists who make the soundtrack to our lives while also protecting the truly local radio stations we all know and love. They’re not mutually exclusive. The American Music Fairness Act does both, and so can we.”

“It’s time to reject the cynical ploys iHeart uses to avoid having to dip into its coffers and pay artists any of the billions of advertising dollars it generates from the music it plays and pass actual legislation that respects artists and protects local radio,” added CROWLEY. “With the landmark American Music Fairness Act, we can finally do both.”

« see more Net News