Comment Of Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.),

Chairman, Senate Judiciary Committee,

On Performance Rights Legislation

June 11, 2008

 

WASHINGTON (Wednesday, June 11, 2008) – The House Judiciary Subcommittee on Courts, the Internet, and Intellectual Property today held a hearing on pending legislation to recognize the rights of musical performers.  Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.), last year introduced legislation to end an exemption benefiting traditional, over-the-air broadcasters and ensure that performing artists are compensated when their sound recordings are played on the radio.  Companion legislation to Leahy’s Performance Rights Act was introduced simultaneously in the House of Representatives by Rep. Howard Berman (D-Calif.), and that bill was the subject of Wednesday’s House subcommittee hearing.  In November, Leahy chaired a hearing in the Senate Judiciary Committee, during which musical artists Lyle Lovett and Alice Peacock testified. 

 

“Performance rights for artists are a matter of simple fairness.  I applaud Representative Berman for holding a hearing on this important issue today.  The legislation that we have introduced in the Senate and in the House is a significant step toward recognizing and protecting the rights of performers, while protecting the needs of noncommercial and small commercial radio stations, including many radio stations in Vermont, as well as the rights of songwriters.  I am glad the House is continuing this important discussion today, and that the administration has declared its support for this measure.  I hope we can act to end this inequity and ensure that artists are fairly compensated.”

 

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