Issue link: https://digital.copcomm.com/i/1433871
26 SAG-AFTRA | Fall/Winter 2021 | sagaftra.org For Members Music Performers Must Be Paid for Radio Play F or decades, recording artists, singers and musicians have not received compensation for airplay of their songs on terrestrial, or AM/FM, radio. Songwriters are paid, but the singers and musicians who recorded the song that is played on air are not. The American Music Fairness Act, which was introduced in June by U.S. Reps Ted Deutch, D-Fla., and Darrell Issa, R-Calif., would finally fix that injustice. Under the bill, AM/FM radio stations would be required to pay artists a fair market royalty rate when their songs are played. The AMFA would finally recognize music creators as the reason media corporations are able to attract billions of dollars in advertising revenue annually. As a member of the musicFIRST coalition, SAG-AFTRA — alongside other music-focused organizations, including the American Federation of Musicians, SoundExchange, RIAA, A2IM and the Recording Academy — strongly supports the American Music Fairness Act. They are joined in the fight by the AFL-CIO. The AMFA would bring much-needed change to the industry. Terrestrial radio's current business model would finally be on par with all other radio platforms, including digital, satellite and cable, all of which pay creators for the music they play. Companies such as SiriusXM, Spotify and Pandora pay for the music they use. AM/FM radio should be no different. Local radio stations with revenue under $1.5 million annually or those affiliated with parent companies with revenue under $10 million annually would only pay a minimum annual amount of $500 to play unlimited music, which will continue to promote diversity and localism within the radio industry. Public, non-commercial or college radio would pay even less, $100 annually. Finally, the AMFA would support American artists abroad. The terrestrial radio loophole harms American artists when foreign radio stations play their music overseas. The U.S. is one of the only developed nations in the world that does not recognize a performance SAG-AFTRA, Allies Target Harmful Contract Practices S AG-AFTRA, the Music Artists Coalition and the Black Music Action Coalition have submitted joint public comments to the Federal Trade Commission asserting that certain contract and employment terms imposed by recording companies, entertainment employers and news outlets harm fair competition and restrict workers from building their careers. The Federal Trade Commission invited public comments on contract terms that may be harmful to fair competition, and are seeking terms that may create power asymmetries that disadvantage workers. Workers from across the entertainment industry have joined together to submit these comments. SAG-AFTRA and its allies continue their advocacy for California's Free Artists from Industry Restrictions Act — known as the FAIR Act — which would outlaw many of the practices highlighted in the FTC submission. "Entertainment and broadcast employers take advantage of workers every single day," said SAG-AFTRA National Executive Director and Chief Negotiator Duncan Crabtree-Ireland. "It is time to put an end to one-sided contract terms that restrict job opportunities, earnings and worker mobility. We won't stand for unfair treatment, and we will always fight to ensure entertainment and broadcast workers get a fair shake. That's why we are filing these comments and working to pass legislation like the FAIR Act in California." The FAIR Act will modernize the law to reflect how film, television, and music are made and distributed today, limiting the length of time that production studios and record labels are able to unilaterally hold actors and recording artists off the market. The legislation also critically extends to recording artists the Seven Year Statute, which prohibits employers from trapping workers in long-term contracts. The rise of new platforms and distribution models has afforded consumers more choices than ever to access the content they want. Yet the artists who bring joy to consumers remain constrained to burdensome and archaic contracts. Production studios and record labels routinely hold artists off the market, unpaid, for extended periods of time using contractual restrictions that originated before the 1960s. Continues on page 46 Continues on page 46 Correcting Historical Unfairness For more information about the American Music Fairness Act, or to contact your legislator in support of the bill, visit musicfirstcoalition.org.