NAB Claims Milestone Support for Local Radio Freedom Act

A bipartisan majority of the House of Representatives are now cosponsoring the Local Radio Freedom Act, a resolution opposing "any new performance fee, tax, royalty, or other charge" on local broadcast radio stations. The Local Radio Freedom Act (LRFA), which signals members of Congress's opposition to any potential legislation that imposes new performance royalties on broadcast radio stations for music airplay, now has 222 cosponsors in the House and 28 in the Senate.

Adding their support for the Local Radio Freedom Act in the House are Reps. Robert Aderholt (R-AL-4), Shontel Brown (D-OH-11), Troy Carter (D-LA-2), Andrew Clyde (R-GA-9), Byron Donalds (R-FL-19), Brad Finstad (R-MN-1), Mike Flood (R-NE-1), Mayra Flores (R-TX-34), Ruben Gallego (D-AZ-7), Carlos Gimenez (R-FL-26), Tony Gonzales (R-TX-23), Jody Hice (R-GA-10), Debbie Lesko (R-AZ-8), Burgess Owens (R-UT-4), Stacey Plaskett (D-VI-DL), Matt Rosendale (R-MT-AL), John Rutherford (R-FL-4), Abigail Spanberger (D-VA-7), Melanie Stansbury (D-NM-1) and Daniel Webster (R-FL-11). Adding their support for a companion resolution in the House are Sens. Shelley Moore Capito (R-WV), Jim Risch (R-ID, Kyrsten Sinema (D-AZ) and Roger Wicker (R-MS).

"America's radio broadcasters are deeply thankful to the nearly 250 bipartisan House and Senate cosponsors of the Local Radio Freedom Act," said NAB President and CEO Curtis LeGeyt (right). "Local radio stations' irreplaceable service to their communities and our decades-long relationship with recording artists would be greatly damaged by a burdensome performance royalty. The support for broadcast radio from a majority of the House helps ensure that local stations can continue playing an indispensable role to our tens of millions of listeners without harming the historic partnership between broadcasters and the record industry."

Reps. Kathy Castor (D-FL-14) and Steve Womack (R-AR-3) are the principal cosponsors of the Local Radio Freedom Act in the House of Representatives. Sens. Martin Heinrich (D-NM) and John Barrasso (R-WY) are the lead cosponsors of a companion resolution in the Senate.

"Congress should not impose any new performance fee, tax, royalty, or other charge relating to the public performance of sound recordings on a local radio station for broadcasting sound recordings over the air, or on any business for the public performance of sound recordings on a local radio station broadcast over the air," reads the Local Radio Freedom Act.

InsideRadio reports it is still possible the House Judiciary Committee will advance the proposed American Music Fairness Act (H.R. 4130) out of the committee, where Chair Jerrold Nadler (D-NY) has been as strong advocate for a radio royalty. The bill was introduced last June by Reps. Ted Deutch (D-FL) and Darrell Issa (R-CA), and would require radio stations that fall under $1.5 million in annual revenue and whose parent companies make less than $10 million in annual revenue to pay $500 per year in performance royalties, or less than two dollars per day. Smaller stations – those with less than $100,000 per year in revenue – would pay ten dollars a year.