Performance Fee Fight Gets Public Media Attention

Steve Newberry

The battle over a performance fee has spilled into the mainstream media, with USA TODAY reporting TODAY that "members of Congress, already bruised by the struggles over the health care overhaul, had better get ready for another bitter fight, this time over the future of the music business."

The article points to a showdown that is likely by year's end, after the Senate Judiciary Committee cleared the bill last THURSDAY (NET NEWS 10/15). The House Judiciary Committee approved a similar bill in MAY.

There's not much hope for a compromise, the article points out, as "record companies want the change because they're 'running out of money," said NAB Board Chairman and CEO of COMMONWEALTH BROADCASTING STEVE NEWBERRY. "When you start with that basis, it's very difficult to engage in good-faith negotiations. If a large station is paying hundreds of thousands of dollars a year in fees, they're going to play the performers who are most proven to get a return on investment."

"If you use somebody's work to make a buck, you should compensate them for it," says musicFIRST's MARTIN MACHOWSKY. The group is backed by the RECORDING INDUSTRY ASSOCIATION OF AMERICA, THE AMERICAN FEDERATION OF MUSICIANS, and performers including ALANIS MORISSETTE, BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN, JAY-Z and WILL.I.AM.

Read the full article here.

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