Big Babies in the Music Industry and Their Mommies in Congress

Remember these names: Howard Berman, D-California, U.S. Rep. John Conyers, D-Michigan, and Sen. Patrick Leahy, D-Vermont. These congressmen along with twenty-one other co-sponsors are the originators of the “Performance Rights Act.” Remember them in 2010 and again in 2012 with your vote against their continued employment.[1]

Basically the Performance Rights Act accomplishes the following: The two measures proposed in the House and Senate seek to amend federal copyright law, granting musical performers equal rights to compensation for the airing of their recordings by most radio broadcasters. [2] Representing the position of the musicians, “MusicFirst” Executive Director Jennifer Bendall says, “Radio is the only platform that does not pay a fair performance royalty to America’s artists and musicians,” Ms. Bendall claims that AM and FM music stations in the U.S. earn $16 billion annually in advertising revenue, yet won’t compensate the artists and musicians. “It’s not fair, it’s not right and it will be changed,” she adds.[3]
As someone whose livelihood is derived from radio broadcasters, I would ask Ms. Bendal, “Musicians make billions also, where is our cut from their profits for getting the word out?” It turns out that symbiotic is the description that fits best when describing the relationship between radio broadcasters and musicians. When someone like Ms Bendal gerrymanders the picture by only depicting the benefits that flow from the musicians, she makes the radio stations out to be a bunch of “meanies.” Please note that in essence musicians receive free advertising in this so-called unfair union.

Musicians feel they are getting a bum deal with regards to their music being used by radio stations. They are entitled to their opinion, but we do not see musicians baring radio stations from playing their music. In fact, I know a few musicians, and they all say, without exception, that hearing their song played on the radio for the first time is the most amazing thing, and that the amazement never really goes away. Any musician who says radio stations are exploitive is a either a bold face liar or is way too focused on themselves. Either way, they need to grow up. Let me also say that many musicians are against this bill; this article is not about them.

And so we come now to what I deem to be the biggest problem with this Performance Rights Act. I have a big problem with the federal government intervening to solve ALL of our disputes. The inevitable outcome of government intervention is the government siding with one group of citizens against another group of citizens. Whatever happened to the free market, where if one group of Americans don’t want to do business with another group of Americans then they don’t do so? If musicians do not want radio stations to play their music without being compensated, then they should not submit their material to them for public broadcasting. Don’t hold your breath waiting for that to happen because the dirty little secret is that musicians need radio stations to keep playing their music. I once worked for a music station and you would be amazed by the large number of compact discs that come in the mail everyday. These musicians would like nothing more than for their music to be added to the play list.

With our new liberal government, you can be sure that they will not pass on any opportunity to further intrude into our lives. So when the musicians approached our representatives for a resolution, instead of saying, “don’t allow your music to be played on stations that won’t pay you” the government instead responds (in typical liberal fashion) by saying, “let’s destroy theses big corporations.” And destroyed they will be, if this ridiculous bill passes. Of course, it’s not the hated “big corporations” that will really suffer. The radio industry is already besieged with layoffs and cutbacks, and if this bill passes, thousands more jobs of ordinary Americans with families to support will be gone. Also gone will be many of your favorite music radio stations who can not or will not pay the exorbitant tax. Find out how you can help keep free music radio free, go to www.noperformancetax.org

Danian Michael
Political Agenda.

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Footnotes:

[1] The other twenty-one congressmen who foolishly support this bill by name, state and party affiliation. Don’t forget them in 2010 and 2012:

•Rep. Marsha Blackburn [R, TN-7]
•Rep. Steve Cohen [D, TN-9]
•Rep. Anna Eshoo [D, CA-14]
•Rep. Kay Granger [R, TX-12]
•Rep. Jane Harman [D, CA-36]
•Rep. Paul Hodes [D, NH-2]
•Rep. Jay Inslee [D, WA-1]
•Rep. Darrell Issa [R, CA-49]
•Rep. Sheila Jackson-Lee [D, TX-18]
•Rep. Henry Johnson [D, GA-4]
•Rep. Jerrold Nadler [D, NY-8]
•Rep. Linda Sánchez [D, CA-39]
•Rep. Adam Schiff [D, CA-29]
•Rep. John Shadegg [R, AZ-3]
•Rep. Brad Sherman [D, CA-27]
•Rep. Louise Slaughter [D, NY-28]
•Rep. Edolphus Towns [D, NY-10]
•Rep. Zach Wamp [R, TN-3]
•Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz [D, FL-20]
•Rep. Anthony Weiner [D, NY-9]
•Rep. Robert Wexler [D, FL-19]

[2] (The San Antonio Journal) In an article titled, “Pending radio tax pitting artists against broadcasters,” author W. Scott Bailey describes events taking place right now from the point of view of radio broadcasters most notably the National Association of Broadcasters executive director, Dennis Wharton.
(http://sanantonio.bizjournals.com/sanantonio/stories/2009/04/20/story7.html)

[3] Ibid.