New Push For Royalty Reform for Songwriters

U.S. Sens. Lamar Alexander and Bob Corker, along with Sen. Orrin Hatch, introduced the Senate version of the Songwriters Equity Act, which seeks to increase royalty payments to songwriters and music publishers.

The Tennessean reports the senators made the announcement in front of an applauding crowd of music industry members at the iconic Bluebird Cafe. U.S. Rep. Doug Collins, R-Georgia, initially introduced the bill in the U.S. House in February.

The legislation would allow the federal rate court to factor in the fair market value for a song when determining the rate that songwriters and publishers must be paid when their songs are played.

The National Association of Broadcasters has expressed concerns about the bill, but the most ardent resistance figures to come from digital radio service providers, such as Pandora.

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In response to the introduction of legislation today in the Senate to increase the rates that songwriters are paid when their music is played on local radio stations and other platforms, the following statement can be attributed to NAB Executive Vice President of Communications Dennis Wharton:

"NAB respectfully opposes this legislation, which could impose new costs on broadcasters that jeopardize the future of our free locally-focused service. While this legislation raises important issues about the changes confronting the songwriter community, NAB objects to changes in law that would deal with the financial imbalance between songwriters and artists by subjecting free broadcast radio stations to new fees."