By: Bo Tefu, CBM

U.S. Senators Alex Padilla (D-Calif.), Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.), Cory Booker (D-N.J.), and Thom Tillis (R-N.C.) introduced the bipartisan “American Music Fairness Act” on Jan. 31 to ensure artists and music creators are paid for the use of their songs on AM and FM radio.

This legislation is expected to align corporate radio broadcasters with other music streaming platforms, which already pay artists for their music. The bill’s announcement arrives on the heels of the 67th Annual Grammy Awards ceremony over the weekend in Los Angeles where a number of Black artists won awards, including Beyonce (Album of the Year, Best Country Album, and Best Country Duo featuring Miley Cyrus ) and Kendrick Lamar (Song of the Year, Record of the Year, Best Rap Song, Best Music Video and Best Rap Performance).

“California’s artists enrich our country’s music scene, but our laws unfairly deny them the pay they deserve for their work on AM/FM radio broadcasts,” Padilla stated. “As we celebrate the accomplishments of our musical artists at the Grammy Awards in Los Angeles, we must also commit to treating them with the dignity and respect they deserve for the music they produce, and we enjoy every day.”
The American Music Fairness Act would also provide protection for small and local stations who qualify for exemptions — specifically those that fall under $1.5 million in annual revenue and whose parent companies fall under less than $10 million in annual revenue overall. The bill proposes that exempted stations play unlimited music for less than $500 annually.

In addition, the bill creates a fair global market that makes way for foreign countries to pay U.S. artists for the use of their songs overseas.

Jay King, the CEO and President of the California Black Chamber of Commerce said news of radio stations paying the artists is welcoming news. King is the founder of the R&B New Jack Swing band Club Nouveau, that put out a series of hits in the 1980s.

Radio stations do not pay royalties to performers or copyright owners for songs played on the air but as songwriter and publisher of the Club Nouveau’s music, King does receive royalties from his sound played over the airwaves, though not as an artist. He added that songwriters and publishers by law have been receiving royalties from radio stations since 1930.

“This is wonderful. What they are doing is getting legislation to catch up with technology in the 21st Century,” King told California Black Media (CBM). “Artists should get paid every time a record plays on the radio the same way as the writer and publisher. So, now I want to know how much the record companies are getting and how we are going to split this money.”