MUMBAI: The Senate Judiciary Committee on Thursday approved a bill which requires radio stations to pay royalties to performers when their music is aired, a top priority for the recording industry.
The Senate committee vote marks the furthest congressional progress yet for the measure, although it is still far from becoming law.
Radio station owners such as CBS Corp., Clear Channel Communications Inc. and Cox Radio Inc. would be required to pay negotiated royalties to performers for playing their music on the air.
The measure would establish a royalty to be split between recording artists and labels. (Satellite and Internet radio already pay such fees) Broadcasters making less than $50,000 can pay a flat annual fee of $100, and stations making less than $1.25 million can also pay a flat fee, per the proposal.
Similar legislation was passed in the House of Judiciary Committee in May.
Music labels including Warner Music Group, Vivendi, and Sony Music Entertainment, say their artists deserve to be compensated for the value their songs bring to radio stations. However, The National Association of Broadcasters has lobbied aggressively against the bill and has garnered enough members in the House to stop the bill from becoming law, saying that radio play promotes music and should remain free.
The NAB argues that performers receive free promotions worth millions when their music airs on the radio, and argue that the extra cost for the royalties would be devastating to their businesses.