Recording artists want Congress to force radio stations to pay them for their songs

WASHINGTON — More than 300 recording artists, including some of the biggest names in the music industry, are pressing lawmakers to pass a bill that would require terrestrial radio stations to pay them for the rights to play their songs.

In a letter to congressional leaders obtained by NBC News, music stars like Aerosmith, Barbra Streisand, Céline Dion, Gloria Estefan, James Taylor, Jelly Roll, Lil Jon, Lin-Manuel Miranda and Mariah Carey argue they are missing out on potentially billions of dollars of royalties they feel they are entitled to.

“For decades now, corporate broadcasters have unjustly exploited an antiquated loophole in the law to profit from advertising generated from unlimited use of free music,” the letter reads. “Each year, AM/FM radio stations play nearly a billion songs. And each year, giant radio corporations rake in billions in advertising dollars while refusing to pay a single cent to the artists behind the music.”

The letter calls for swift passage of the American Music Fairness Act, which would create a revenue stream for performers.

Most terrestrial stations subscribe to licensing entities called performing rights organizations that then pay royalties to music publishers and songwriters. Those royalties are not paid to performers, though some performers are also songwriters.

Organizations that represent radio stations have countered that both broadcasters and musicians have mutually benefited from the exposure provided by radio air play. They argue that the royalties they pay through the licensing agreements are already very costly and that imposing yet another cost could seriously hurt the already struggling radio industry.

“Such additional royalties could potentially financially cripple many local radio stations and harm the millions of listeners who rely on local radio for news, emergency information, weather updates and entertainment,” the National Association of Black Owned Broadcasters said in a statement.

The American Music Fairness Act has a carve-out for small and independently owned stations to pay as little as $500 a year for the right to play unlimited music.

The artists who signed the letter argue that in the era of the internet and streaming music, free radio air play is far more beneficial to the bottom lines of broadcasters than of the artists.

“When I was starting out, radio offered free promotion for artists who were looking to make it,” singer/songwriter Carly Simon said in a statement. “That’s no longer the case. In the digital age, fewer and fewer Americans are discovering new music on the radio. Instead, AM/FM is making billions of dollars each year in ad revenue without compensating the artists whose songs they play. This needs to end.”

In addition to the letter, R&B stars Boyz II Men will make their case to lawmakers Thursday on Capitol Hill, with plans to meet with a long list of members of both the House and the Senate.

“It’s outrageous that big radio companies are able to make billions of dollars each year in ads while denying royalties to the performers whose music attracts listeners in the first place,” Boyz II Men members Nathan Morris, Shawn Stockman and Wanyá Morris said in a joint statement. “We hope that Congress will listen to the voices of artists and pass this bill.”

Several different versions of the American Music Fairness Act have been introduced over the years, but the bill has yet to get a vote at the committee level.

Ryan Nobles

Ryan Nobles is a correspondent covering Capitol Hill.