Photo Credit: Leo Wieling
The AFL-CIO organization has passed a resolution to support the American Music Fairness Act (AMFA).
The AMFA would see vocalists and musicians paid when their music plays on the radio. Right now, AM/FM radio operators only have to pay publishing royalties for music. The AFL-CIO highlights how huge media corporations are acquiring radio stations left and right across the United States. “With these big corporate broadcast companies gobble up billions upon billions in advertising dollars, the union vocalists and musicians, including session and background performers, whose work make all of it possible receive no compensation whatsoever.”
The American Music Fairness Act would require corporate broadcasting companies to fairly compensate artists when they play their songs on AM/FM radio. The AFL-CIO highlights that the United States is one of only four other countries in the world that don’t pay artists for radio airplay. The other three countries are China, Iran, and North Korea.
The AFL-CIO says that as Americans are recovering from two years of personal loss and economic suffering, it’s time for Congress to protect the livelihoods of those who create the music the world enjoys. “Therefore, the AFL-CIO commits to continue working to pass the American Music Fairness Act to protect all performers, vocalists, musicians, and all music artists,” the union says.
Following the passage of the resolution, the musicFIRST Coalition announced their support.
“We applaud the AFL-CIO for standing by artists and music creators and lending the strength of its 12.5 million members to fight for passage of the American Music Fairness Act,” adds Congressman Joe Crowley, Chairman of the musicFIRST Coalition.
“This legislation will benefit artists across the country – including the tens of thousands who are members of SAG-AFTRA, the American Federation of Musicians and other AFL-CIO unions – by correcting a decades-long injustice fueled by corporate greed that has left artists uncompensated for their use of their songs on AM/FM radio.”
“In all other industries, paying people for their work is a basic, bedrock principle,” Crowley adds. “Broadcasting shouldn’t be an exception. It’s time to fix our laws and bring the radio industry up to speed with the times by ensuring that Big Radio corporations fairly compensate artists when they play their songs. We look forward to working alongside our friends at the AFL-CIO to pass this important and long overdue legislation this year,” Crowley concludes.