Thanks to a big PR push and the recent naming of Joe Crowley — the former Democratic Congressman who lost his primary re-election bid to Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez — as Chairman of pro-recording artist rights coalition musicFIRST, the latest effort in the U.S. House of Representatives to collect dollars for musicians and performers from radio stations was introduced with a big media splash.
The American Music Fairness Act arrived. It looks not so dissimilar to previous attempts to get legislation favoring recording acts passed by Congress, except for one big difference: a tiered royalty structure based on a radio station’s annual revenue.
Is that enough to woo Members of the House and Senate? If anything, it may have had the opposite effect, as the Local Radio Freedom Act has gained more support since the “AMFA” arrival.
