The Broadcasters' Caucus of the American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (AFTRA) has lined up with recording artists who want performance fees whenever their work is spun on a broadcast outlet. The members, which include announcers, DJs, hosts and journalists, said they "…vigorously support their fellow members who are recording artists and singers in the effort to extend a public performance right in sound recordings. Recording artists, singers and musicians deserve to be fairly compensated when the sound recordings they create are broadcast over the air on terrestrial radio."
SmartMedia observation: It's always nice to score points talking about deserving artists, while conveniently forgetting to mention corporate executives in the recording industry who stand to benefit from what the radio industry is calling a performance tax. Of course, sending money to record execs will mean that there will be that much less money to spend on announcers, DJs, hosts and journalists.
