Today I wrote to my U.S. congresswoman, Suzan DelBene, to ask for her support for the Fair Play Fair Pay Act, H.R. 1733. The Act would rectify a major flaw in the Copyright Act by requiring that owners of sound recordings be paid for radio airplay on terrestrial radio. Although songwriters are paid for terrestrial radio airplay through the performing rights organizations (ASCAP, BMI, or SESAC), sound recording copyright owners (generally either recording artists or their record label) are currently paid nothing for terrestrial radio airplay. The Act would also partially resolve another flaw in the Copyright Act, by providing that the performance right extends to sound recordings created prior to February 15, 1972. The United States currently sits on a rarefied short list of countries – which includes North Korea, China, and Iran – that do not pay artists a performance royalty for sound recordings on terrestrial radio.
The MusicFirst coalition provides an easy way for individuals to reach out to members of Congress by filling out a short form through their website here.
