WASHINGTON, DC— Today, Reps. Jerrold Nadler (D-NY), Marsha Blackburn (R-TN.), John Conyers Jr. (D-MI.), and Ted Deutch (D-FL.) introduced the Fair Play Fair Pay Act of 2015. Among other things, the bill would establish a public performance right for terrestrial radio, enabling musicians and sound recording owners to collect royalties when their music is played on AM/FM radio. Currently, only digital radio services—such as satellite radio, Internet radio and cable radio—are legally obligated to pay artists and labels for the over-the-air transmission of their work. This is in contrast with the rest of the developed world, which compensates performing artists and songwriters when their music is played on terrestrial radio.

The Fair Pay fair Play Act also attempts to establish cross-platform royalty parity by establishing a “willing seller, willing buyer” standard that federal judges would use to make rate determinations. In addition, the bill would require services to pay performance royalties on older recordings not currently recognized by the federal government, as well as establishing a more streamlined means for artists to apportion a percentage of their performance royalties to studio professionals should they so desire.

Analysis of the proposed legislation by Future of Music Coalition (FMC):
http://futureofmusic.org/blog/2015/04/12/look-inside-fair-play-fair-pay-act

“FMC believes strongly that artists must be paid when their work is used on AM/FM radio. We also feel that private agreements between radio services and rightsholders should, at the bare minimum, preserve the direct payment and fair splits that have made the statutory license so important to creators. We’re glad to see this included in the proposed legislation, even as we wish that the bill went further to advance the rights of older recording artists by fully federalizing pre-1972 sound recordings, as recommended by the U.S. Copyright Office.

“Future of Music Coalition appreciates the efforts of the bill’s sponsors to tackle several of the issues that impact how musicians reach audiences and earn a living in an evolving marketplace. Congress needs to get this right. We welcome the opportunity to stand with the many musicians, independent labels and managers who share a vision for a brighter future for music.”