The Performance Rights Act Threatens Black Radio — Or Does It?
Filed under: News
There is a civil war of sorts in the black community regarding the proposed Performance Rights Act (H.R. 848). The legislation, sponsored in the House of Representatives by Rep. John Conyers, would require traditional radio stations to pay a royalty to artists as compensation for playing their music. (Satellite radio, internet radio, cable TV music stations and radio stations that stream their signal online already pay performance royalties.)
Opponents of the bill (most notably Kathy Hughes, president of Radio One) claim that it will bankrupt small and black-owned radio stations, which will not be able to afford the fees required by the legislation. Supporters say that it will fairly compensate artists for their work.
It is very difficult to get excited about supporting either side of this debate. The main spokesperson for the “save black radio” crowd is Kathy Hughes, founder of Radio One. Others speaking out against the Performance Rights Act are Rev. Al Sharpton, Tom Joyner, Dick Gregory and several members of the Congressional Black Caucus. The key supporters of the Performance Right Act are Rep. John Conyers, Rep. Bobby Scott, Dionne Warwick and several other prominent artists. Clearly, both sides have self-serving motives in the positions that they hold, which in itself is not wrong. However, the way both sides are framing the issue is completely misleading.The main beneficiary of the Performance Rights Act (if passed) would not be the recording artists whose music is being played; it would be the record labels, who would reap the benefits of most of the royalties collected, just as they receive the majority of the money from artists’ album sales. Also, the main beneficiaries of the Performance Rights Act not passing would not be black radio; it would be large broadcast radio corporations, both black-owned and others, which would escape having to compensate artists for using their music.
Radio One, Clear Channel, and other broadcast radio corporations have been the main culprits in destroying black radio, so to hear them speak out against this act by proclaiming the need to “save black radio” is an absolute joke. These corporations have willingly participated in payola relationships with the record labels for years, playing whatever buffoonish, ignorant, sexist garbage the major record labels tell them to put on their playlists. They have also virtually eliminated local disc jockeys, local/independent artists and programs that discuss issues of local concern. Given that a great deal of black radio talent works for white-owned stations, Kathy Hughes would be more accurate to say that she wants you to “save her bank account.”
This is yet another unfortunate instance of divide and conquer: Instead of attacking the entities (record labels) that are whoring them both, radio broadcasters and artists have chosen to go to war with each other. Ultimately, the only winner in this drama will be the record companies, who will continue to prosper (relatively speaking) in tough times, while those that should be waging war against them continue to foolishly attack each other.
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