Category: Fair Play Fair Pay

A New Twist in the AM Radio Debate: Why Tying AM Mandates to AMFA Is a Game-Changer #IRespectMusic

The latest twist in the long-running AM radio saga comes from a new alliance: cars and music. Automaker trade groups Alliance for Automotive Innovation, Consumer Technology Association, and Zero Emission Transportation Association are shoulder to shoulder with the musicFIRST Coalition and SoundExchange in urging Congress to link the “AM Radio in Every Vehicle Act” with the American Music Fairness Act (AMFA). If we’re going to mandate AM radios be placed in new cars then music played on those radios should pay the people who made that music. It’s unfair and fundamentally inconsistent to require one without the other, so broadcasters should pay artists.

What Is the American Music Fairness Act?

If you haven’t run across it yet, AMFA is bipartisan legislation sponsored by our champion Senator Marsha Blackburn in the Senate and our long-time ally Rep. Darrell Issa in the House of Representatives that would finally require AM/FM radio stations to pay performance royalties to recording artists and performers when their recordings are played over the air. Currently, the U.S. remains the only democracy that allows terrestrial radio to make billions from music without compensating performers.

Why Artists Get Left Out

As incredible as it may seem, under U.S. copyright law, terrestrial radio must pay songwriters and publishers—but not performers or sound recording rights holders. That means backup singers, session musicians, and producers receive zero compensation, even when their work drives–literally–billions in broadcast revenue. This is what allows the National Association of Broadcasters shillery to claim “we pay for music” and then try to pit artists against songwriters. That dog won’t hunt, but that never stops them from trying.

The musicFIRST Coalition, including SoundExchange and tons of artists and creators, has been front and center pushing Congress to close this loophole for years and we have been right there with them along with our friend Blake Morgan and his #IRespectMusic campaign.

 

“Mandating AM radio without addressing the performance royalty issue would perpetuate an inequity that denies hundreds of millions of dollars in compensation to countless recording artists every year. Congress should not pass a mandate for radio without ensuring appropriate royalties for artists… They deserve to have their hard work respected and valued with fair compensation — like they receive in every other industrialized country.”
—SoundExchange CEO Michael Huppe

The Math on AMFA

  • U.S. radio plays over 240 million songs annually without compensating performers
  • The music industry could gain an estimated $200–300 million annually if Americans were paid for domestic and foreign broadcast plays 
  • Aligns U.S. copyright with global norms—terrestrial radio already pays performers in virtually every other developed nation.

What is to be done

If Congress is going to mandate AM radio in every car, it can’t ignore the rights of the very artists who create the content. By demanding performance royalties through AMFA, we can preserve public safety benefits while ensuring creators are paid for their work. This is a rare chance for Congress to get it right—fairness and infrastructure can go hand-in-hand.

If you believe artists deserve fairness when their music plays on the radio, now is the time to act:

  1. Sign the letter to Congress. The musicFIRST Action Center has made it easy—just a few clicks to add your name. 
  2. Call your Senator and Representative and tell them to support both:
    • American Music Fairness Act (H.R. 861 / S. 326)
    • AM Radio in Every Vehicle Act—(S. 315 / H.R. 979–but only inclusive of performance royalties
  3. Spread the word on social media with tags like #PassAMFA, #FairPayForArtists, #IRespectMusic

by Trichordist Editor

@mikehuppe on American Music Fairness Act #IRespectMusic

We’re still looking for the phalanx of industry leaders making this point about the irony of broadcasters enriching themselves at the expense of songwriters when they don’t pay artists–so far it’s just Mr. Huppe who has been here with us before. Complete Music Update has the story:  iHeartMedia confirms incoming $100 million pay day as a result of BMI sale

The boss of US record industry collecting society SoundExchange has used the news that iHeartMedia will make $100 million from the sale of BMI to again call for politicians to back the American Music Fairness Act.

SoundExchange CEO Michael Huppe wrote on Twitter: “The irony of a radio giant profiting millions while underpaying performers is yet another reason why the American Music Fairness Act is so vital for #MusicFairness”.

by Trichordist Editor

BMI’s Insult that Keeps On Insulting! @hypebot: Radio doesn’t pay performers, but iHeart will get $100M from BMI sale to Google/Private Equity

[T Editor sez: Remember how we have all fought alongside #IRespectMusic, Blake Morgan and MusicFirst to get artists paid for radio play of their recordings on terrestrial radio? Remember how iHeartMedia and the rest of the National Association of Broadcasters used their lobbying muscle to block our heroes in Congress like Reps. Jerry Nadler, Ted Deutch, and Darrell Issa and Senators Marsha Blackburn and Alex Padilla from passing the American Music Fairness Act? And are blocking it to this day? Well, adding insult to injury, the broadcasters who apparently own BMI, the for-profit PRO, are making serious bank for selling their shares to Google and private equity fund New Mountain. You know, Broadcast(er) Music, Inc.? Thus screwing songwriters, but screwing artist/songwriters TWICE. Who are they? According to the most recent BMI annual report we could find they are probably the same companies with board seats which are these smiling faces:

Bruce Hougton at Hypebot fills us in on the details of just how profitable the sale for Google’s blood money really is for one stockholder owner of BMI, iHeart Media (formerly Clear Channel). iHeart is, of course, the largest radio station owner in the US and poster child for media consolidation and screwing artists. iHeart profits from blood money stealing from artists and then does it again stealing from songwriters. And if iHeart is doing it, the rest of the BMI owners are, too. Of course you can complain to your songwriter-board member of BMI…oh wait, you don’t have any. Unlike ASCAP and SoundExchange. Of course, the question is whether those Members of Congress who worked so hard on the American Music Fairness Act and its predecessors will exercise their oversight role and investigate the sale. As well as the series of moves that lead to Google acquiring songwriter personal data that we don’t think belonged to BMI in the first place. It may not just be insulting, it may also be illegal. And answer the musical question, how big is your black box?]

 In an ironic twist, iHeart Media, the largest owner of broadcast radio stations in the US, will receive $100 million from the sale of BMI to New Mountain Capital [and Google’s CapitalG venture fund]. The windfall is a result of iHeartMedia’s equity interest in BMI.

Read Bruce’s post on Hypebot

by Trichordist Editor

@MikeHuppe: Protecting the Creative Class

Guest post By Mike Huppe
President & CEO at SoundExchange

Creators – whether they be writers, actors, or musicians – are the heart of the entertainment industry. They inspire us with their words, move us with their performances, and get our blood pumping with their beats. 

Now two of the major unions representing creators – the Writers Guild of America (WGA) and the Screen Actors Guild (SAG-AFTRA) – have gone on strike to make the case for better pay and residuals, improved working conditions, fairer treatment in the age of streaming, and protections against the widespread use of artificial intelligence to replace creators. 

This is the first time that writers and actors have gone on strike at the same time since 1960, and it has brought the movie and TV industry to a virtual standstill. After cable increased content to fill a new crop of channels, streaming platforms fueled an explosion of new series and features to feed a new business model. Now, production has ground to a halt and the availability of new movies and shows will dwindle in the coming days, weeks, and months.

At its core, this dispute is about ensuring that, even as business models evolve and change, creators are treated fairly so they can continue to do the work that brings meaning to them and joy to us.

At SoundExchange, we love creators. We champion their work. We’ve seen the music industry go through technology-driven disruption (just as the motion picture industry is now), and we were created to ensure that streaming music business models enable creators to make a living doing what they do best. We’ve been fighting for 20 years to build a fairer, simpler, and more efficient music industry – by successfully increasing royalty rates across a variety of platforms; by holding accountable those who seek to cheat creators; by increasing the speed and transparency of payments, and by scoring a big win for music creators with the Music Modernization Act in 2018 (which provide comprehensive music licensing reform).

And we continue to fight these battles.

As streaming matures and new royalty models are debated, and as technology platforms evolve in Web3 and the metaverse, SoundExchange will remain a strong and vocal voice to ensure creators are fairly compensated. As artificial intelligence improves and matures at an astounding rate, SoundExchange became a founding member of the Human Artistry CampAIgn to demand that the rights of human creators are at the center of any copyright and intellectual property decisions, and we are proud that both SAG-AFTRA and the Writers Guild of America (WGA) are among the coalition’s members.

And it’s worth noting that music performers are still not compensated – at all — for their work when played on AM/FM broadcast radio. For this reason, SoundExchange is a driving force in the effort to convince Congress to act on the American Music Fairness Act, which would require multi-billion-dollar radio corporations to pay performance royalties like digital streaming platforms do.

So, to the creators out there on strike, we say this. We stand with you and hope that these disputes can be resolved quickly in a way that supports fair treatment, compensation, and protections for creators. And for those of you who are registered with SoundExchange, we will continue to work every day to make sure that you receive the digital royalties that you are due in a timely manner. 

We know this mission matters more now than ever.

[This post first appeared on LinkedIn]

by Trichordist Editor

@SoundExchange CEO @mikehuppe Nails NAB Hypocrisy on Artist Pay for Radio Play–#IRespectMusic — Artist Rights Watch

The hearing on Groundhog Day (Feb. 2) for the American Music Fairness Act (or “AMFA”) was a fantastic opportunity for artists to be heard on the 100 year free ride the government has given broadcast radio. We know it went well because the National Association of Broadcasters sputtered like they do when they’ve got nothing to say.

But what’s really hysterical was how they talked out of both sides of their mouths in two different hearings–which makes you think that NAB president Curtis LeGeyt was doing his impression of Punxsutawney Phil. Yes, when it came to broadcasters getting paid by Big Tech, the broadcasters wanted their rights respected and to be paid fairly. But when the shoe was on the other foot, not so much. In the Senate, the NAB asked for more money for broadcasters in a hearing for the Journalism Competition and Preservation Act–to protect the mega radio broadcasters from the mega tech oligarchs. And if broadcasters don’t get more money, they want to be exempt from the antitrust laws so they can pull their content. Just like artists do to them…NOT.

Then the NAB comes over to the House Judiciary Committee–on the same day being Groundhog Day–and asks the government to continue their 100 year free ride. We call bullshit.

SoundExchange CEO Mike Huppe nailed this in his Billboard post:

The AMFA witnesses didn’t ask for an antitrust exemption, like the broadcasters did. They simply asked that recording artists be granted similar copyrights as others.

They didn’t ask for more money, like the broadcasters did. They simply asked for at least some payment, since they now receive none when broadcast radio stations air their music.

They didn’t ask for special treatment, like the broadcasters did. Rather they asked that they be treated the same as all other artists around the world, and even the same as artists on virtually all other media platforms in the U.S.

And they didn’t ask for rigts to negotiate and withhold content, like the broadcasters did. Under AMFA, radio stations would still be allowed to play music as they please. Artist advocates simply asked that the biggest-of-the-big stations pay a modest royalty set according to market rates. Stations making less than $1.5 million per year would pay a flat, annual royalty of $500 (less than $1.40 per day) for as much music as they choose to air. And the smallest stations’ payments would drop all the way down to $10.

No station is going to go bankrupt over these royalties.

Huppe has a very strong point here. This legislation has been picked over for years. AMFA bends over backwards to protect community radio and small broadcasters and repects everyone’s contribution to radio’s success.

But that’s the point–it respects everyone‘s contribution.

You can watch the hearing here:

https://youtube.com/watch?v=SdTICqUHcG8%3Fversion%3D3%26rel%3D1%26showsearch%3D0%26showinfo%3D1%26iv_load_policy%3D1%26fs%3D1%26hl%3Den%26autohide%3D2%26wmode%3Dtransparent

by Trichordist

Save the Date: Feb 2, 10am ET: Artist Pay for Radio Play Gets a Hearing in the House Judiciary Committee #IRespectMusic

We want Trichordist readers to now how much we appreciate your commitment to artist rights and especially your long-term support for the #IRespectMusic campaign. You were there early and your support has never wavered. But it’s time to step up once again!

It’s time to tell Congress we are still here and we still want them to make this happen. It’s fair and it’s the right thing to do. As Blake Morgan asked in a viral blog post in The Hill:

We musicians are used to fighting. For our livelihoods, our families, our dreams. In recent years we’ve fought battles we’ve neither sought nor provoked, against powerful corporate forces devaluing music’s worth. Streaming companies, music pirates, and AM/FM radio broadcasters who, in the United States, pay nothing––zero––to artists for radio airplay.

It’s shocking, but true: The United States is the only democratic country in the world where artists don’t get paid for radio airplay. Only Iran, North Korea, and China stand with the United States in this regard.

Broadcasters make billions of dollars each year off our music, and artists don’t earn a penny. This impacts not only the artist, but session musicians, recording engineers, songwriters. Virtually everyone in music’s economy. 

Isn’t being paid fairly for one’s work a bedrock American value?

The super-consolidated U.S. broadcast radio monopolies represented by the National Association of Broadcasters shillery has fought fair treatment for all recording artists since the dawn of radio. Thanks to the voices of fans and artists from around the United States, fair pay for radio play has become a local issue, and Congress is responding.

Tune in on February 2nd at 10 am ET for the House Judiciary Hearing, “Respecting Artists with the American Music Fairness Act” thanks to Rep. Ted Deutch and Rep. Darrell Issa, the bi-partisan co-sponsors of the historic legislation.

Rep. Ted Deutch and Blake Morgan

In the mean time, please sign the petition at #IRespectMusic and let your Member of Congress know you support the bill and want to bend the arc of the moral universe to fight artist exploitation. Please tell your friends, share on your socials and with your fans!

You can read the bill here, and if you want to drill down, you can watch this in-depth video on the issues sponsored by Texas Accountants and Lawyers for the Arts, I Respect Music Austin, Austin Music Foundation, SoundExchange, Austin Texas Musicians and Artist Rights Watch.

by Trichordist

@theblakemorgan: American middle-class musicians are worth fighting for #IRespectMusic–Artist Rights Watch

[Editor Charlie sez: Our friend and supporter Blake Morgan has an important opinion post on the bi-partisan American Music Fairness Act (AMFA) in The Hill, a long-time and influential DC insider journal. Blake tells the human story of why artists need the AMFA legislation and the #IRespectMusic campaign.]

This image has an empty alt attribute; its file name is amfa-156.jpeg
Rep. Ted Deutch and Blake Morgan

We musicians are used to fighting. For our livelihoods, our families, our dreams. In recent years we’ve fought battles we’ve neither sought nor provoked, against powerful corporate forces devaluing music’s worth. Streaming companies, music pirates, and AM/FM radio broadcasters who, in the United States, pay nothing––zero––to artists for radio airplay.

It’s shocking, but true: The United States is the only democratic country in the world where artists don’t get paid for radio airplay. Only Iran, North Korea, and China stand with the United States in this regard. ADVERTISEMENT

Broadcasters make billions of dollars each year off our music, and artists don’t earn a penny. This impacts not only the artist, but session musicians, recording engineers, songwriters. Virtually everyone in music’s economy. 

Isn’t being paid fairly for one’s work a bedrock American value?

Read Blake’s post on The Hill and sign the #IRespectMusic campaign and tell Congress you want fairness for artists!

by Trichordist Editor

@TheBlakeMorgan Interview on the American Music Fairness Act Launch and #IRespectMusic–MusicTechPolicy

[This post first appeared on MusicTechPolicy. Read the American Music Fairness Act here.]

Blake Morgan helped to launch the American Music Fairness Act on June 24 in Washington along with Dionne Warwick, Sam Moore, a host of other artists and the bill’s sponsors Rep. Ted Deutch and Rep. Darrell Issa. We asked Blake about his impressions.

Rep. Ted Deutch and Blake Morgan at the AMFA launch

Chris Castle: I see you were back in Washington supporting new legislation to create a performance right for artists on terrestrial radio, how did that feel? Getting the band back together?

Blake Morgan: You know, it felt great. There’s a new spirit in the air, a new energy to this fight. Everyone at the launch event could feel it. It was aspirational. How can one not feel that way for something called the American Music Fairness Act?

Janita, Rep. Ted Deutch, Blake Morgan, Tommy Merrill

Any particular insights from the event?

Perhaps the one at the top of the list is that everyone was so happy––to see each other, to band together, to renew our vows to each other so to speak. To recommit ourselves in a new way to securing fair payment for artists on terrestrial radio. It was emotional. The fight for justice always is, and let’s make no mistake: this is a fight for basic fairness and justice. There’s an unmistakable excitement about the new bill, and our job––together––is to turn that excitement into volition, then into momentum, and finally into victory.

There was a quote in the recent Supreme Court ruling against the NCAA that jumped out at me: “Nowhere else in America can businesses get away with agreeing not to pay their workers a fair market rate on the theory that their product is defined by not paying their workers a fair market rate.” That’s not exactly analogous to broadcast radio, but it’s close, don’t you think?

Absolutely. Nothing could be more American than being paid fairly for one’s work. Nothing should be more American than being paid for one’s work. When it comes to music, where else in the American economy are working people told they won’t be paid for their work because instead, they’re going to receive “exposure.” That’s what AM/FM radio does. What’s more, broadcast radio can take our music without our permission, broadcast it, sell advertising around it, profit from it, and not pay the artists anything for it! As Sam Moore said at the bill’s launch event at The Capitol, “Pay us! Be nice!”

You were an active supporter of the CLASSICS Act that required pre-72 recordings be given equal treatment on digital performances. I was pleased that Rep. Deutch and Rep. Issa invited several generations of artists to the American Music Fairness Act event, will the pre-72 artists also be protected by AMFA?

Definitely, that’s such an important part of what this bill does. My godmother was Lesley Gore, the iconic 60’s hitmaker who sang the classics “It’s My Party” and “You Don’t Own Me,” among others. She died in 2015, after having never been paid one damn dime for those hits being played on AM or FM radio. AMFA may be too late for her, but I’m committed to making sure we get this passed in time for other iconic hitmakers and legends who have helped weave the very fabric of this country with their music. Who could possibly look any of those artists in the eye and tell them they shouldn’t be paid fairly. For shame.

What can the #irespectmusic community do to support the legislation?

We can do what we do best––bring music makers and music lovers together, tell people to stop wringing their hands and start rolling up their sleeves, and get active in supporting AMFA. We’re going to set up mechanisms in the coming weeks to make our voices heard with congressional members, with broadcasters (an increasing amount of which support this legislation, in fact), and with those who haven’t yet joined the push. We’re going to work hard, we’re going to work smart, and we’re going to pull ourselves closer and closer to victory with this in mind: it always seems impossible until it’s done.

IRMAIV Large
by thetrichordist

Press Release: @RepTedDeutch and @RepDarrellIssa to Host Press Event to Introduce American Music Fairness Act #irespectmusic

[Editor Charlie sez: Our great allies Ted Deutch and Darrell Issa are introducing a law to guarantee the key object of the #IRespectMusic campaign–artist pay for radio play!]

Reps. Deutch and Issa will be joined by legendary artists Dionne Warwick, Sam Moore, and others to introduce legislation to ensure music creators are fairly compensated when their songs are played on AM/FM radio

(Washington) On Thursday, June 24 at 1:15 pm ET, Rep. Ted Deutch (D-FL) and Rep. Darrell Issa (R-CA) are hosting a national press event alongside artist-advocates like Dionne Warwick and Sam Moore to introduce the American Music Fairness Act.
 
Members of the press can register here. This event will be live-streamed here.
 
After COVID-19 disrupted artists’ financial stability, it is more important than ever that legislation is passed to ensure music creators are compensated when their music plays on FM/AM radio stations. The American Music Fairness Act will require that performing artists are paid for the use of their songs on FM/AM radio — just like they already do on digital streaming services.
 
This bipartisan bill is a response to the Local Radio Freedom Act championed by the National Association of Broadcasters.
 
WHAT: A national press event announcing the American Music Fairness Act
 
WHO:
·     Rep. Ted Deutch (D-FL)
·     Rep. Darrell Issa (R-CA)
·     Dionne Warwick
·     Sam Moore
·     Additional artist-advocates
 
WHEN: Thursday, June 24, 1:15pm ET
 
WHERE: House Triangle, United States Capitol, Washington, DC

IRMAIV Large

by thetrichordist

@ColinRushing of @SoundExchange: Congress Should Eliminate the Market Distortion of AM/FM Radio’s Free Ride on the Backs of Artists

[SoundExchange Chief Legal Officer Colin Rushing lays it down before Senate Judiciary]

Throughout the 80 years that the terrestrial radio performance right has been under discussion, broadcasters have argued in many ways that they are special and deserve different treatment than other business interests. Their arguments that their special status should result in them not paying performers– never valid – have now also been overtaken by events.

They say AM/FM radio is important because it is free, but they are no different than any other free ad-supported music platform available to consumers. They argue that providing public service announcements and news information is a reason to require music to subsidize their platform, and yet many music platforms provide these same services, not to mention that most digital music platforms are delivered over devices that provide local emergency notifications.

To the extent that AM/FM radio may be promotional, this is not a trait that sets them apart from other music services that compensate performers. Nor does it justify an uncompensated “taking” of musicians’ property. Rate-setting proceedings and licensing negotiations take promotional value into account as a matter of course, along with many other variables.

The potential for promotion exists in a lot of licensing arrangements. Television broadcast of a professional basketball game may promote a local team, but no one would suggest that the NBA should surrender the broadcast rights for free because of that “promotional value.” Why should music be any different?

Read his written testimony on the SoundExchange website.

by Trichordist Editor