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Federal legislation could help musicians earn more money when their music gets played on the air.
The Performance Rights Act is a bill in Congress that would require radio stations to compensate artists for the music it plays.
The bill is intended to close a loophole in copyright law that allows radio stations to play the works of artists without compensation to them or their record label, according to the Recording Industry Association of America’s Web site.
Paul Torre, an assistant professor in radio-television, said one argument on behalf of the broadcasting world is that radio provides a platform for artists to be heard, which is the equivalent of free advertising.
“Historically, labels were desperate to get their clients on the air,” Torre said.
Torre said everybody in the music industry is hurting for money right now because of complications such as piracy.
Terrestrial radio, or AM and FM, generates $16 billion a year in advertising revenue without paying the artists that stations’ listeners are tuning in to hear, according to the RIAA Web site.
The National Association of Broadcasters countered RIAA in a Los Angeles Times report, arguing that airplay gives “promotional value” to artists. The NAB estimates the radio business garners more than 235 million listeners a week that leads to $1.5 billion to $2.4 billion in music sales annually.
Brian R. Powell, the station manager at WDBX in Carbondale, said while he is not well aware of the Performance Rights Act, he does know he pays royalty fees already.
Powell said WDBX would not close because of another fee, but its budget is not prepared for an additional charge. Powell said WDBX pays about $1,700 a year in royalty fees.
But the kind of royalties stations such as WDBX pays only compensate one side of the music-making business.
Todd Herreman, an assistant instructor in radio-television, said there is a distinction between paying performers and paying songwriters, and the groups stations such as WDBX pays only compensate songwriters.
“There are two copyrights involved when they play a song on the radio. One is the underlying work, which is the song, and the other is the specific recording of that song,” he said.
He also said the Performance Rights Act only applies to terrestrial radio. Internet, satellite and other forms of radio already pay a performance fee because of the 1996 Digital Millennium Copyright Act.
North Korea, China and Iran are among the few countries that do not have a Performance Rights Act in place, Herreman said.
Herreman also said that broadcasters have been incorrectly billing the legislation as a tax in an attempt to get people to shy away from the concept.
Provisions in the act would charge commercial, non-commercial and college radio stations differently, Herreman said.
Radio is the only musical platform that does not pay a similar fee to musicians and artists, according to the RIAA.
