NAB Lauds Local Radio Freedom Act; Some Lawmakers Warn of 'Unjust' Business Model
The reintroduced Local Radio Freedom Act (H. Con. Res. 17) has 94 House co-sponsors, NAB said in a news release Wednesday. Senate (S. Con. Res. 4) and House versions of the resolution were introduced Tuesday (see 1502240067). The resolutions would…
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oppose terrestrial radio stations from paying any new taxes or royalties. John Barrasso, R-Wyo., and Heidi Heitkamp, D-N.D., are the principal sponsors of S. Con. Res. 4; Reps. Michael Conaway, R-Texas, and Gene Green, D-Texas, headed up the resolution’s introduction in the House. “NAB applauds lawmakers for standing with hometown broadcasters in opposing a job-killing performance royalty that would damage the No. 1 platform for exposing new music," CEO Gordon Smith said in the release. House Judiciary Committee ranking member John Conyers, D-Mich., members Darrell Issa, R-Calif., Jerrold Nadler, D-N.Y., and House Commerce Committee Vice Chair Marsha Blackburn, R-Tenn., sent a letter to lawmakers Tuesday asking that they not support LRFA. They called terrestrial broadcasters' exemption from public performance royalties an "unjust business model." The musicFIRST Coalition, which advocates for terrestrial broadcasters to pay public performance royalties, in a blog post Tuesday criticized NAB’s claim that such broadcasters can’t afford to pay new royalties. MFC cited a GAO study that said a public performance royalty would cost major broadcasters 2 percent of their revenue. Despite efforts to thwart the resolutions, NAB expects the number of co-sponsors to grow “considerably” in the coming months, said a spokesman.