S/T Folio Op-Ed in the Reno Gazette Journal

July 18, 2008

Radio should pay to play our music

By Sam Folio

For every Bruce Springsteen, Frank Sinatra or Enrique Iglesias who captures the imagination of music lovers, there are thousands of working musicians, background singers and aspiring performers who are talented, hard-working and equally dedicated to their craft. They are not household names, but we've all heard their music. Their passion and their economic survival is vital to the breadth and richness of American music.

In fact, entire industries thrive on the content and diversity of American recordings. Today we have more choices and access to music than at any other point in our history. You can hear your favorite performances on AM/FM radio, on a computer or via satellite or cable services. Yet, when we look at how performers are compensated when their recordings are used to generate profit for other industries, one glaring inconsistency jumps out.

While performers are paid royalties when their recordings are broadcast over the Internet, via satellite or on cable television, they do not receive a single penny when used on the AM/FM dial.

In simple terms, over-the-air radio receives special treatment through an exemption in the copyright law -- a "corporate radio loophole." While other platforms pay a performance royalty to musicians, AM/FM broadcasters have a free pass to play music without paying for the content.

This massive loophole disadvantages the artists and other businesses that broadcast music. In fact, the United States is in the company of Iran, North Korea and China as the only Western democracy that does not require radio stations to pay musicians a performance royalty when their music is broadcast. To make matters worse, Americans also lose foreign radio royalties because of the lack of a payment to European artists here in the United States.

The radio industry earns more than $16 billion annually in advertising revenue, while at the same time refusing to compensate the artists. Congress has recognized this injustice and Bipartisan legislation is moving through both the Senate and House.

In order to achieve fairness for all involved, the musicFIRST Coalition http://www.musicfirstcoalition.org/ is asking for support in making this legislation a reality.

At the end of the day, the AM/FM radio spectrum belongs to the public. We've given free use of this spectrum to the radio industry, in return for which radio broadcasters are required to provide some public service to local communities. But it makes no sense for them, unique among all music services, to also receive free use of the content they use to build their business. The reality is that we all, including radio, will benefit from fair radio royalties to performers, because fair compensation will help keep our music strong.

Sam Folio is secretary-treasurer of the American Federation of Musicians of the United States and Canada. He is a longtime Reno resident.