Today is World Radio Day, and when most of us think of radio, we think of music. That’s why today, Congress received a letter signed by about 300 performing artists asking lawmakers to pass the long-overdue American Music Fairness Act (AMFA) this session. “Each year, AM/FM radio stations play nearly a billion songs. And each year, giant radio corporations rake in billions in advertising dollars while refusing to pay a single cent to the artists behind the music that attracts their advertisers in the first place and makes their entire business model possible,” the letter states.
The artists reiterate what presidents and legislators have known for generations—that it is absurd that the nation which produces some of the most popular recorded music in the world is almost the only democracy that does not pay artist royalties for AM/FM radio play. “This leaves the U.S. in the dubious company of North Korea, Cuba, and Iran,” the letter reminds Capitol Hill. And in a time of deep political divisions, lawmakers agree that this ongoing conflict between broadcasters and musical artists is unfounded and unfair.
As the letter reminds Congress, this is an international trade matter as much as it is a domestic issue of economics and fairness. Although most nations where American music is played on the radio do pay royalties, American artists receive nothing abroad solely because foreign artists receive nothing in the U.S. Plus, the core principle of AMFA is popular with voters. As the letter states, “…by a 6-1 margin Americans support Congress addressing this injustice….” That many Americans don’t agree on much these days, but Congress can feel confident that their constituents do support equity and fairness for American music artists.
AMFA’s Pedigree is Long – Too Long
Under copyright law, musical works, which are created by songwriters, are protected separately from sound recordings, which are created by performing artists who may or may not also be the songwriters. Broadcast, terrestrial radio networks have long paid royalties to songwriters for public performance of musical works but never to performing artists for airing the sound recordings.
AMFA, first introduced in June of 2021 by former Congressman Ted Deutch and co-sponsor Darrell Issa, is the legislative descendant of many bills over many decades proposing to remedy this inequity. During that time, artists have even earned royalties from digital transmission thanks to an amendment to the Copyright Act passed in 1995—sixteen years before Spotify became popular. So, to say the terrestrial radio fix is overdue is an understatement. I have advocated AMFA and explained its provisions in several posts, but I will copy and paste the basic terms again here:
For smaller stations (under $1.5 million/year), the AMFA caps royalties between $10/year to $500/year depending on revenue and status as either a public or private station. For larger stations and networks, rates would be set, as they for the rest of the performance licensing market, by the Copyright Royalty Board (CRB). Under the provisions of AMFA, the CRB must consider station size and revenue when setting rates and must also consider the station’s promotional value to recording artists.
The broadcasters have no plausible, factual argument to oppose the terms of AMFA; the basic principle of the bill is popular with Americans who love the music made by the signatories of this letter; and lawmakers already know all the reasons why passing this bill is the right thing to do. Time to get it done.
Photo source by Kjekol
