MBW Views is a series of exclusive op/eds from eminent music industry people… with something to say.
The following op/ed comes from Michael Huppe, President and CEO of the Washington, D.C.-headquartered performance rights organization, SoundExchange.
Here, Huppe shares his thoughts on the ongoing Congressional support for the AM for Every Vehicle Act, which, if passed into law, would require carmakers in the United States to install AM radios in all new vehicles.
At the same time, artists in the US don’t get paid when their music is played on AM/FM radio. Here, Huppe explains why “fighting to get artists paid for radio plays is so critical”.
There is no doubt that the music industry stands as one in the belief that artists and other creators deserve to be paid for their work.
But when it comes to the fight to secure performance royalties for AM/FM radio plays, some skeptics question devoting efforts to getting economic justice from a “dying” medium such as terrestrial radio.
But last week Congress brought front-and-center why fighting to get artists paid for radio plays is so critical.
Following aggressive and well-funded efforts by the National Association of Broadcasters (NAB), Congress is moving to protect AM radio by compelling auto makers to keep the 100-year-old technology in cars – even though it interferes with electric engines and would increase car prices.
If the AM for Every Vehicle Act passes, the US government will for the first-time be mandating that private corporations install a specific broadcast service in its vehicles.
But if AM/FM is “dying,” if broadcast radio is “dying,” why is this legislation so important and on a fast track?
Why is this the number one priority for the broadcasters this year? This legislation is a lifeline to iHeart and other over-the-air broadcasters who are losing market share (and cultural influence) to digital streaming services.
If the AM for Every Vehicle Act becomes law, it is not a stretch to imagine that broadcasters will down the road seek to include FM radio in the mandate. Why? Because FM broadcasters have the sweetest-of-all-sweetheart-deals when it comes to delivering music.
“when Americans listen to music on terrestrial radio, broadcasters don’t have to pay artists a single penny for that performance, despite the fact that all other digital platforms (like satellite and internet radio) do pay performers.”
They ride the public good of FM airwaves virtually for free, and earn $12 billion annually while paying nothing for the primary input of their service – the recording.
That’s right, when Americans listen to music on terrestrial radio, broadcasters don’t have to pay artists a single penny for that performance, despite the fact that all other digital platforms (like satellite and internet radio) do pay performers. And despite the fact that all other industrialized countries do pay performers.
So, it stands to reason that iHeart and other broadcasters want listeners tuned in as much as possible to terrestrial radio stations – as opposed to digital services – where they collect billions of dollars in ad revenue from playing music for free.
Make no mistake – broadcasters are working diligently to ensure that Congress grants AM (and eventually FM) radio a perpetual life inside automobiles.
If Congress can find the time and political will, with everything else going on in the world, to fast-track a government mandate on forcing a hundred-year-old technology into every new car, then it can surely address the issue of making sure artists are paid for their songs when they are played on AM/FM radio.
Passing the AM bill without fixing the performance rights issue would condone the current backwards system and allow broadcasters to continue exploiting artists.
Passage of a far more important law, like the American Music Fairness Act (AMFA), would allow artists to rightfully get paid for AM/FM radio performances.
So, if it’s critical to mandate preservation of an income stream for a highly profitable media business sector that has consolidated, centralized, and all but killed true local programming, it should be even more important to require just compensation for the businesses – a.k.a. performers – who form the very foundation of their service.Music Business Worldwide
