Posted by chicagomedia.org on February 12, 2009 at 15:26:13:
More Than 100 Lawmakers Co-Sponsor Local Radio Freedom Act
WASHINGTON -- (Radio Ink) February 12, 2009: One hundred and ten members of the House -- 73 Republicans and 37 Democrats -- have co-sponsored the Local Radio Freedom Act, re-introduced today by Reps. Gene Green (D-TX) and Mike Conaway (R-TX).
The resolution reads, "Congress should not impose any new performance fee, tax, royalty, or other charge relating to the public performance of sound recordings on a local radio station for broadcasting sound recordings over-the-air, or on any business for such public performance of sound recordings."
The resolution was initially introduced last year, and ended up with the support of the majority of the House; the reintroduced resolution has more than twice as many initial co-sponsors as last year's. The LRFA counters the Performance Rights Act, introduced recently in the House and Senate, which would for the first time require broadcasters to pay royalties to record labels for the use of music.
NAB President/CEO David Rehr said, "NAB applauds Reps. Green, Conaway, and their House colleagues for their commitment to ensuring that America's 235 million weekly radio listeners have continued access to free, local radio. The undeniable fact is that RIAA's plea for a record-label bailout will put thousands of radio jobs at risk and threaten the economic viability of a recording artist's greatest promotional asset."