Congressional Panel Hears About Lack Of Performance Fees

Music artists called on lawmakers on Wednesday to pass a bill that would force AM and FM radio broadcasting companies to pay royalties to performers when their songs are played on air.

Gloria Estefan told a Congressional hearing a music royalties bill would help artists who "cannot pay the rent" amid the coronavirus pandemic, reports The Hill.

The singer appeared at a virtual House Judiciary Committee hearing on Wednesday to push lawmakers to pass the American Music Fairness Act, which would require radio stations to pay performers if they play their songs.

“Each of the songs that are precious and meaningful to you was a labor of love for the songwriters, the artists, the musicians and producers that brought it to life. They poured their own hearts and souls into its creation. But when their music is played on the radio, artists don't get paid, only the songwriters,” Estefan, 64, said.

While radio stations benefit from advertising dollars, the Grammy Award-winner said, the “featured artists, the singers, producers and studio musicians are left out.”

She called the practice “problematic” for older entertainers who aren’t topping the music charts but still get their songs played on the radio, and for performers who have been sidelined by COVID-19-related closures.

She pushed back on the long-standing position from radio stations that argue playing music over their air provides a promotional tool to get more new pairs of ears listening to the artists’ songs.

Estefan testified that traditional, broadcast radio remains the “only platform that does not compensate performers for the sound recordings they use to fuel often-billion dollar businesses,” and is the “only industry in America that can use another’s intellectual property without permission or compensation.”

The bill, introduced by Reps. Ted Deutch (D-Fla.) and Darrell Issa (R-Calif.), would “ensure that all competing music platforms are treated equally,” Estefan said.

NAB President/CEO Curtis LeGeyt said that four years ago, the same committee asked the broadcast and music industries to work together to develop a proposal on the terrestrial performance royalty issue. He said NAB “worked for more than 18 months and offered numerous proposals to our industry partners behind closed doors that aimed to achieve that goal. … When our concepts were rebuffed, we came back to the table with new ideas time and time again.”

RadioWorld reports he reiterated arguments that broadcasters have made before: that a new royalty on local radio is “financially untenable for broadcasters of all sizes and unjustified as a matter of policy,” that there is a lot of support among legislators for competing legislation called the Local Radio Freedom Act, and that artists themselves frequently acknowledge the importance of radio in their success.