Poll: Respondents Think Radio Should Pay Performance Fees

A new national poll commissioned by musicFIRST shows that the American public backs bold action to ensure that artists are treated with respect and paid when their songs are played on AM/FM radio, according to a press release.

Dominant corporate broadcasters like iHeartMedia and Cumulus Media have refused to pay artists. While these corporations use music creators’ work to fill their airwaves, and in turn bring in advertisers, they claim they cannot afford to give compensation to the artists. 

The musicFirst release states this is exploitation of the tens of thousands of working-class singers and musicians.

musicFIRST states these same broadcasters then turn to their lobbyists at the National Association of Broadcasters (NAB) to do their dirty work on Capitol Hill to maintain the unjust status quo, claiming that providing fair compensation to artists for their work would harm “local radio.” The truth is that the six largest broadcast conglomerates have wiped out local jobs at the 2,000 radio stations they own across the country.

While most Americans are unaware of these injustices playing out between broadcasters and music creators, once they learn of this issue they not only agree it is unfair, and that music creators deserve to be paid when their music is played, but they support artists and advertisers taking strong action — up to and including boycotting AM/FM radio stations or supporting artists from withholding their music — to force broadcasters to do the right thing.

musicFIRST is supporting the American Music Fairness Act (AMFA), bipartisan legislation introduced by Reps. Ted Deutch and Darrell Issa in June of this year. If passed, the AMFA would require broadcasters to, would finally, fairly compensate artists when they play their songs on their radio stations, while protecting truly local radio stations by exempting small and noncommercial broadcasters.

One key reason that broadcasters have been able to get away without paying artists for so long is that most Americans simply don’t know it’s happening, according to the musicFIRST poll.

In this survey, only 30% of Americans said they were aware that artists aren’t paid when their music is played on AM/FM radio. Meanwhile, over half reported that they knew that streaming services like Spotify and Pandora do pay artists for streams. 

The NAB is banking on the public remaining in the dark on this issue, according to musicFIRST. Because once they do become aware, Americans overwhelmingly believe it’s unfair that music creators and artists are not paid when their music is played on the radio — by a 2-to-1 margin, 54%-22%. Once average people start speaking up, standing, alongside leading artists and voices in the music industry, the pressure to finally provide fair compensation may be too much for corporate broadcasters to withstand.

By a more than 40-point margin (60%-16%), survey respondents say that artists should be able to withhold their music and not allow radio stations to play their songs if they’re not being paid for it.

In response to polling conducted by musicFIRST regarding a performance royalty on local broadcast radio stations for music airplay, NAB released the following statement on behalf of  President and CEO Gordon Smith:

“NAB strongly opposes a performance fee on broadcast radio, and we applaud the more than 200 bipartisan members of Congress who are standing up for their local radio stations and listeners. Not only would a performance fee upend the century-long symbiotic relationship between radio and the music industry, but it would devastate thousands of radio stations across the country.

“As musicFIRST is well aware, NAB’s door remains open to continue discussions around a holistic solution to this issue that grows the partnership between the music and broadcast industries for another hundred years. It is unfortunate that the record labels’ focus is on gimmicky press conferences and questionable Survey Monkey polling rather than serious conversation.”