The Performance Rights Act, introduced into Congress earlier this year, is certainly causing much consternation across the music industry. The legislation aims to compensate artists whose music is played on AM and FM radio stations. A music coalition known as "musicFIRST" sent a petition to Congress claiming that broadcasters were “refusing to air the music of artists who demand to be paid when their songs are played on the radio.” The group also says radio stations are declining to air advertisements that support the Act.
MusicFIRST want the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to look into whether broadcasters are "engaging in a pattern of threats and intimidation against artists to chill their speech and participation in the political process." This coalition includes the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), so somehow I doubt they have too many problems making their voices heard.
The FCC has said it will look into whether broadcasters are “threatening” artists who support the legislation. Surely, however, it’s up to radio stations to choose what artists they play. As the National Association of Broadcasters’ Executive Vice President, Dennis Wharton, says, "broadcasters are under no obligation to carry everything that is offered or suggested to them."
