PEORIA (25News Now) – A national debate over artist compensation could soon affect local radio stations as Congress prepares to consider the American Music Fairness Act.
The proposed legislation would require radio stations to pay new royalties to performers, marking the first time the U.S. would implement such payments.
Currently, radio stations pay licensing fees to songwriters and composers. However, the bill would introduce an entirely new fee structure.
Midwest Communications, which owns local radio stations such as WMBD Radio, said the legislation could hit small-market stations the hardest.
Operations Manager Fritz Moser said the radio has spent decades promoting artists for free, and this shift could force some stations to change their operations.
“It’s just going to be harder for us to justify some of the costs to get some of these newer acts on the air. I think you’re going to see some radio stations either create their own record labels. I mean, that’s a possibility. Or they’ll change formats to where they’re out of the music business altogether,” Moser said.
Local artist Warith Muhammad, co-founder of God’s Music Productions, supports the Fairness Act, saying even small payments could make a major difference for artists.
“When you’re an independent artist, every penny counts. You don’t even say dollar because most of the time your streams aren’t making dollars. They’re only making pennies. So this bill saying, ‘hey, this money is going to go directly to the artist’ is huge,” Muhammad said.
The American Music Fairness Act has support from several major artist groups but faces strong opposition from broadcasters nationwide.
The legislation is expected to be debated again when Congress returns next session.
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