Frank Sinatra‘s daughter, Nancy, walked her boots to DC and kicked up a storm.
The LA Times reports that on Wednesday, Nancy headlined a House subcommittee hearing, urging lawmakers to force broadcast radio stations to pay royalties to performers and record companies when the stations air their songs.
Currently, it’s only composers and songwriters who get royalties from radio stations.
Singers and musicians who perform those songs, along with the labels that own the recordings, get nothing.
Old Blue Eyes led a similar charge in the 80’s, but failed.
Nancy said, “It’s not about me. It’s not about my dad. Certainly, Dad wasn’t fighting for this because he needed more money. We are in search of fairness.”
We’d respect her more if she told the truth!
Of course it’s about money!!!!!!!
When is anything never about the money?
With the shit state of music these days we wouldn’t be surprised if the record labels were egging Nancy along.
Maybe some ‘artists’ should start writing their own music or at least take a more active role it in????
However, according to the report, traditional broadcast radio stations, struggling themselves against satellite radio and iPods, have launched an intense counteroffensive. The National Assn. of Broadcasters has lined up a majority of House members behind a separate bill declaring a performance royalty would hurt local radio stations. The group released a report this week saying that the free promotion from radio airplay generates $1.5 billion to $2.4 billion in music sales each year.
Some musicians and some lawmakers say the system has been broken for years. Some noted that Bo Diddley, the rock legend who died this month, had to keep touring into his 70s because he received no money from the airplay his recordings got on the radio.
The bill Sinatra’s helping to advance is supposedly designed to fix a glaring inequity. Legislation would remove the exemption for over-the-air radio stations and have a panel of copyright judges set the rates, probably a small percentage of revenue. Stations, with gross revenues less than $1.25 million a year, would play a flat $5,000 annual fee.
This sounds VERY complicated for the radio stations!
Do you really want to DISCOURAGE them from playing your music???
Musicians and record companies feel they have fairness on their side because performance royalties now are paid by satellite, cable music channels and Internet radio.
[Image via WENN.]