It’s funny how some businesses react when times get tough. The recording industry, dominated by foreign ownership, has not kept up with new technology and is losing sales to file sharing and computer downloads. Where music fans formerly went to a record store and bought an album or CD, they now go to the internet and download just the songs they want. In an attempt to increase their profits, they are coming after local radio. They want your local stations to pay a performance royalty on every single song we play. Local radio already pays thousands of dollars each year in fees to writers and composers. This unfair “tax” on your local broadcaster will eventually cause us to limit the music we can afford to play.
Can you imagine buying music you have never heard? This is ridiculous. In the not so distant past record companies were so aggressive in seeking radio airplay, that they actually illegally paid DJs to play their music! You may remember the “Payola” scandals and know that federal laws were passed to eliminate the practice.
Debate of this self serving piece of legislation (H.R. 848) is being heard in Washington right now. The labels are parading a group of performers in front of our representatives to tell how poorly they are being treated by their best and only free way to promote their songs. It is ironic that the labels themselves are the ones who have a long history of signing performers to long ironclad contracts that only benefit the recording companies.
Please take a moment and contact your representatives in Washington and let them know that you want to keep local radio free! Below is a sample letter that we would appreciate you sending to the politicians we have listed with their addresses.
Thank you for your help and support!
Key points on the performance tax:
http://www.freeradioalliance.org/Talking_Points
Sample letter to your congressman:
http://www.freeradioalliance.org/mocletter.doc
How to take action:
http://www.freeradioalliance.org/actionCenter.html
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