Music Artists Protest Web Radio Royalty System

A coalition of 125 musicians — from Motown’s Martha Reeves to Maroon 5 — is telling Congress that Web radio sites like Pandora need to keep paying the piper for Internet airplay, according to an article at politico.com.

In an open letter to be published in Billboard, the artists, who include 40 Grammy winners, contend that Congress has more important things to do than debate the Internet Radio Fairness Act — legislation they contend will cut their pay.

“Congress has many pressing issues to consider, but this is not one of them,” write the artists. “Let’s work this out as partners and continue to bring fans the great musical experience they rightly expect.”

The musicians’ coalition contends that Congress has done enough to boost Pandora over the past decade by giving the Internet radio company a break on royalties, and now it’s time for the artists to share the wealth.

“Pandora is now enjoying phenomenal success as a Wall Street company,” the musicians write. “We celebrate that. At the same time, the music community is just now beginning to gain its footing in this new digital world. Pandora’s principal asset is the music. Why is the company now asking Congress once again to step in and gut the royalties that thousands of musicians rely upon?”

While the letter is signed by the likes of Don Henley, Vince Gill and CeeLo Green, their signatures were marshaled by MusicFIRST, an artists’ rights organization, and SoundExchange, a performance rights organization that collects royalties for Internet-delivered music.

“These artists have joined together to tell Pandora it’s time to go back to the drawing board. We all want Internet radio to succeed, but it won’t if it tries to do so on the backs of hardworking musicians and singers,” MusicFIRST Executive Director Ted Kalo said in a statement.

The letter, featuring the iconic image of a rock ’n’ roll guitar, makes clear that the legislation pushed by Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) in the Senate and Reps. Jason Chaffetz (R-Utah) and Jared Polis (D-Colo.) in the House is going to be in for a tough fight.

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