Uh-Oh, Radio? RIAA Applauds House’s ‘AM/FM Act’

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WASHINGTON, D.C. — Despite overwhelming opposition to any new royalty payments for radio stations on Capitol Hill, legislation pushed by the Recording Industry Association of America and artist and music publishing organizations continues to pop up. In the House, the latest effort is the “AM/FM Act.”


That would be the “Ask Musicians for Music Act of 2019,” which does not yet have a House or Senate bill number.

It’s been introduced in the lower body of Congress by House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jerrold Nadler (D-N.Y.) and Sen. Marsha Blackburn, the Tennessee Republican who was the Chairman of the House Subcommittee on Communications and Technology before winning her senate seat in 2018.

News of the legislation resulted in applause from RIAA Chairman/CEO Mitch Glazier. He describes the bills as “bipartisan, bicameral legislation to ensure creators receive fair market value for their music on all platforms.”

How would this potentially impact radio broadcasting companies?

“By requiring broadcasters to get permission from music creators to use their music in the same way broadcasters are entitled to give permission for the use of their signal — the AM/FM Act addresses inequities in law that should be fixed,” Glazier says.

He tied the introduction of the AM/FM Act to the House Judiciary Committee mark up of the “Satellite Television Community Protection and Promotion Act of 2019” as, in Glazier’s opinion, it underscores a core principle: “both broadcasters and creators deserve the same rights when it comes to the use of their property.”

Glazier says, “The current state of the law granting broadcasters that right while denying it to creators is unjust and skews the market.”

Details of the legislation’s specific intent and language were not available at RBR+TVBR‘s Thursday deadline of 4:30pm Eastern.

1 COMMENT

  1. This looks like it has all kinds of “unintended consequences” for the recording industry and their fragile relationship with broadcasters. Be careful what you wish for.

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