The big congressional news last week was that the Senate Finance Committee voted through a health care plan. Much less publicized (but far more important considering all the historical conflicts and tensions) was the approval of the Performance Rights Act by the Senate Judiciary Committee. A similar bill has already been approved by the House Judiciary Committee.
The legislation aims to compensate artists whose music is played on AM and FM radio stations, one that, according to the Executive Director of the musicFIRST Coalition, Jennifer Bendall, rights a wrong that has existed “over the last 80 years.” She described the Committee’s approval as bringing us “one step closer to winning the fight for fundamental justice that has been waged by countless artists and musicians.” Somebody’s been borrowing Obama’s speechwriters!
According to The Wall Street Journal, the legislation “would force radio companies to pay royalties [fees] of as much as $500 million a year to record labels and artists whose music they play.” A survey conducted by the National Association of Broadcasters (NAB) found that, when the Act was described in this way, 75% of Americans opposed the legislation. Of course, if it was described as “Paying hardworking Americans for their vital labor that entertains millions of radio listeners every week,” then maybe we’d have a different set of results. This correspondent is not biased (bias doesn’t exist on TMT!); I'm just suggesting that NAB could've benefited from a semester in survey design.
