Month: July

Full Text:

It is unlikely that Congress will vote this year on the legislation requiring terrestrial radio stations to pay artists and labels performance royalties to air their recordings, but a lot of progress has been made by the side supporting the artists. There was a resounding vote on June 27 in support of the legislation that sent the Performance Rights Act to the full House Judiciary Committee, but it won't get much further this election year after Congress takes its scheduled summer recess in August. The side supporting the broadcasters has created opposition to the bill calling it a performance "tax" and declaring it would create "severe economic hardship" on the radio stations. Even the opposition cannot deny that they are acknowledging the fact that in other industrialized countries, as well as satellite and Internet radio in the US, all pay performance royalties. Some point this out to be an example of "a lack of harmony with laws around the globe." Many are trying to find a compromise in the bill. They know it is fair to give compensation to the artists and labels, but think it should also be considered to have a business model that compensates the radio stations for their role in promoting music. Supporters of the artists and labels say they are happy with the progress and that this is the most they've made in the past 80 years.

Month: May

Full Text:

As Congress comes to a close at the end of June, the bills up for debate regarding publishing royalty rates are finding it hard to make it through. Any bill that does not will likely be shelved. Only two bills seem to have a chance of passing. One is for orphan works, which would make copyrighted works available for licensing even if the copyright owners cannot be found. It protects copyright users under the conduct that the user performed proper research to find the owner, but was unable to locate them. The bill is primarily for artwork and photographs, but could affect the music industry. The other bill focuses on intellectual property (IP) protection. An act already passed in the House in early May, and a similar bill is being made in Congress. This will setup an IP advisor to the President and a division in the Dept. of Justice.