(Washington) — On Wednesday, May 13, the House Judiciary Committee passed Chairman John Conyers’ (D-Mich.) Performance Rights Act, which would provide compensation to performers when their work airs on terrestrial over-the-air radio. Conyers issued the following statement in support of the bill:
The Performance Rights Act is one of my top priorities this Congress. On one hand, I believe it is finally time to establish equity for recording artists and allow them to be paid fair compensation for their creativity. On the other hand, I am concerned about the economic impact this bill may have on broadcasters, particularly smaller broadcasters.
I know times are tough, and it is not the intention or goal of this legislation to drive broadcasters into bankruptcy or to bring about a widespread consolidation of the industry. That is why I have been, and remain, committed to finding a middle ground on this issue.
I modified the Performance Rights Act last week with an amendment I crafted with several members of the committee – including fellow Congressional Black Caucus members Sheila Jackson-Lee, Hank Johnson, and Mel Watt, and Republicans Darrell Issa and Tom Rooney – to create a sliding scale where small stations will pay as little as $500 a year for the unlimited use of all music and other copyrighted sound recordings. Industry data shows that three-quarters of America’s radio stations will be eligible for the scale, and 90% of African American-owned stations will be protected. Eligibility is determined by a station’s gross annual revenues, and all music radio stations that gross less than $1.25 million per year will be eligible for an flat annual fee. Under the scale,
• Commercial stations that gross less than $100,000 per year will pay a $500 annual fee;
• Commercial stations that gross more than $100,000 and less than $500,000 will pay a $2,500 annual fee;
• Commercial stations that gross more than $500,000 and less than $1.25 million will pay a $5,000 annual fee.
Non-commercial music radio stations – like public radio, college radio, and nonprofit religious radio stations – are also carved-out with flat, annual fees. Non-commercial stations that gross less than $100,000 per year pay a $500 annual fee, and non-commercial music stations that gross $100,000 or more pay a $1,000 annual fee.
Moreover, the broadcast of religious services is wholly exempt from being subject to a performance royalty.
Due to the current economic conditions that have hit both musicians and broadcasters particularly hard, my colleagues and I also changed the bill so that none of the royalties will take effect for at least one year. For stations that gross less than $5 million per year, no royalties will be due until 3 years after the bill has become law. For stations that gross more than $5 million per year, the bill will not take effect for 1 year. For large music radio stations – stations that gross more than $1.25 million per year – the performance royalty rate will be set by the U.S. Copyright Royalty Board, a part of the Library of Congress.
On Wednesday, May 13, 2009, a bipartisan group of Judiciary Committee members, lead by Ranking Republican Member Lamar Smith and me, requested that the Government Accountability Office (GAO) conduct a study on the impact of the legislation on diversity in media, including minority and minority-owned, female and female-owned, and religious broadcasters and artists. As the bill moved through the Judiciary Committee that day, my colleagues and I directed the Copyright Royalty Board to factor in the study’s results when determining the rate, so that the impact on minority, female, and religious broadcasters and artists will be taken into account.
Talk radio that plays pieces of music – like playing a portion of a song before a news segment – is wholly exempted from paying any performance royalty, no matter if the station is big or small.
I am proud to have worked out these compromises with the support of the Leadership Conference on Civil Rights (LCCR), the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), and many, many unions – including the AFL-CIO, SEIU, and AFSCME.
I plan to remain diligent in ensuring the vibrancy and competition available in the broadcast and other relevant markets. The last thing any of us wants to do is preside over a broadcast market that becomes more concentrated and less diverse. I understand how important and emotional an issue this is, for it cuts to the core of who we are as diverse communities across the country.
Creative rights similarly go to the core of our cultural and intellectual health and identity. When artists’ creations – like jazz, rhythm and blues, country western, and gospel – is played on the radio, the people who performed that music don’t get a dime. But when that same song is played on television, satellite, and internet radio, they are entitled to compensation. It is time to level the playing field for artists while recognizing that broadcasters play vital roles in our local communities. We must both encourage creativity and protect the economic viability of local broadcasters. The Performance Rights Act is a step in that direction, and I pledge to continue to call broadcasters to the table to negotiate before this bill becomes law.
