A victory for broadcasters? It looks like it. Today, it was announced that 220 members of the U.S. House of Representatives have signed off a bill that would stop the imposition of a royalty paid to the record companies every time a radio station played one of their tunes on the air. That's a majority and enough to keep the bill from even coming to the floor. 12 U.S. Senators have also signed on against the proposed royalty payments as well. But, as broadcasters noted, the record companies (75% foreign owned by the way) have been trying to add "pay for play" to radio for many years, and it's doubtful they'll give up. In the meantime, here's the press release just sent us from the NAB
MAJORITY OF U.S. HOUSE
NOW
OPPOSES PERFORMANCE TAX
-- Major milestone reached as
House opposition hits 220; Senate opposition doubles --
WASHINGTON, DC -- A majority of
U.S. House members is now publicly opposed to a record label-led effort to strap
radio stations with new fees for airing music free to listeners, NAB announced
today. The Local Radio Freedom Act, a bipartisan resolution that denounces the
imposition of "any new performance fee, tax, royalty or other charge" on radio
for music airplay now has 220 House co-sponsors and 12 Senate
co-sponsors.
Adding their support to the Local Radio Freedom Act are
Reps. Alcee Hastings (FL-23), Ron Kind (WI-3),
Allyson Schwartz (PA-13), Bob Inglis
(SC-4), Edward Royce (CA-40) and Ben Ray Lujan
(NM-3). Sens. Jeff Bingaman (NM), Kay Hagan
(NC), Jon Tester (MT), Christopher Bond
(MO), Judd Gregg (NH), Mike Crapo (ID),
and Roger Wicker (MS) have added their support to an identical
resolution in the Senate.
"Today's milestone stands as a testament to the
tireless efforts of NAB staff, our state association partners, and grassroots
efforts of stations across America," said NAB Radio Board Chairman Steve
Newberry, president and CEO of Kentucky-based Commonwealth Broadcasting. "But
this fight on behalf of 235 million weekly listeners is far from over. Our
continued success is dependent on radio broadcasters remaining engaged in
building additional support in Congress, and in reminding lawmakers of radio's
unparalleled promotional value for both record labels and artists.
"We
salute Reps. Gene Green and Mike Conaway and the 218 additional House members
who recognize that the proposed record label performance tax stands as a dire
threat to the future of free and local radio," said Newberry.
The Local
Radio Freedom Act, unveiled at a February Capitol
Hill event hosted by the Free Radio Alliance, was introduced by Reps. Gene
Green (TX-29) and Mike Conaway (TX-11). In March, an identical resolution was
introduced in the Senate (S. Con. Res. 14) by Sens. Blanche Lincoln (AR) and
John Barrasso (WY).
"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 such public
performance of sound recordings," reads The Local Radio Freedom
Act.