"...perhaps it might be said that a socialist is a capitalist who's grown accustomed to freeloading off the enterprise and creativity of others.

Such is the case with radio broadcasters. For the better part of 80 years, broadcasters have made their fortune from the artistry of musicians and singers, paying not even a penny from the profits earned from sending artists' recorded works over the airwaves."

"No fair principle supports denying performers compensation for the use of their work. It's the product of a historic error that has been perpetuated by legal fiction and exploited by a powerful broadcast radio lobby."

"Broadcasters also have employed unfounded fear tactics. They claim that requiring the payment of royalties to performers would be ruin the industry. Yet music recordings broadcast via satellite, cable and online "streaming" already are subject to these royalties."

"The pending legislation would allow, at most, nominal fees from small, nonprofit and religious radio properties. Big stations would have to negotiate a fair royalty. But that's business. And the artists have an obvious shared interest in the industry's continued profitability."

-Editorial, St. Louis Post-Dispatch, October 8, 2009

"If you believe people deserve to get paid for their work, it's hard to argue against a bill inCongress that would require radio stations to pay musicians when they play their songs."

"...we think everybody deserves to get paid for the job they do, including recording artists. As much as we love radio, we find ourselves in full support of the Performance Rights Act, a bill moving through the House that would require radio stations to pay royalties to musicians."

"Broadcast radio's competitors -- Webcasts, satellite radio and television -- already pay performance royalties for the recorded music they play."

-Editorial, Chicago Sun-Times, August 4, 2009

"A bill to compensate musicians when their songs are played on radio is picking up steam in Congress..."

"Currently, songwriters are the only artists who receive compensation when a song plays on the radio. The Performing Rights Act would make sure that performers -- along with copyright holders and background vocalists -- receive their piece of the pie as well."

"Critics -- notably, Cathy Hughes, founder and owner of Radio One -- have focused on the revenues that would leave American shores but ignore the fact that plenty of revenue would come to American artists as well. Those artists would receive an estimated $450 million in royalties each year, $100 million of which would come from abroad."

"Opponents also argue that small radio stations can't afford such royalties. But the proposal gives stations drawing less than $5 million annually a three-year grace period, buying them time to adjust to paying into the royalty collection system."

"It's only fair that performers should be paid for the value their artistry provides in attracting listeners and advertising dollars."

-Editorial, The Detroit News, June 5, 2009

"Portland native Jack Ely has lived with a bum deal for 46 years. In 1963, after he and The Kingsmen recorded what would become the seminal version of Richard Berry's "Louie, Louie," Ely was paid $5,000. That was it."

"That's because AM and FM music radio stations in the United States have never had to pay performance royalties. Songwriters make a little money each time their tunes are played on the stations, but the artists themselves don't get a dime unless they're also the writers."

"That's always been unfair. For decades, artists such as Frank Sinatra have fought for an equitable royalty law, but corporate radio's powerful lobbying arm, the National Association of Broadcasters, has always beaten back such legislation."

"This year, however, a bill moving through Congress may actually have a chance. The Performance Rights Act, which would let performers and their recording labels get a share of the ad revenue that radio stations collect by playing their songs, has powerful bipartisan support..."

"'It's not just about me,' he [Ely] said in an interview. 'There are a lot of one-hit wonders out there just like me who deserve compensation when their recorded performances are played and stations get ad revenue from it.'"

"Congress ought to hear his persuasive testimony and pass this overdue reform."

-Editorial, The Oregonian, May 8, 2009

"Musicians have a right to expect compensation when their recordings are played on the radio..."

"While radio stations pay songwriters and publishers for the music they play, no royalties are paid to the performers - the band member who sing and play the instruments. As Grace Potter, a Vermont rock musician with a major record label, says, that eliminates a stream of income for performers who often struggle as they build their careers, while others profit from their work."

"Radio currently is exempt from payments that nearly everyone else that plays music makes, including Internet, satellite radio and cable companies. Performance royalties are also standard in much of the world, but U.S. musicians do not receive the money from overseas radio play because U.S. stations do not pay."

"The bill seeks to close a loophole created by historical accident, and apply the same rules to all. Laws need to keep up with the changing world."

-Editorial, Burlington Free Press, May 6, 2009

"With labels and artists relying less on selling songs and more on monetizing the activities around them, it's hard to defend the free pass awarded to one of the most profitable businesses built on music."

"[The Performance Rights Act] is a simple measure that strikes a blow for fairness, not just to artists and labels but to webcasters and other music services that compete with radio."

-Editorial, Los Angeles Times, June 26, 2008

"The Performance Rights Act would get musicians some R-E-S-P-E-C-T. But more than that, it would let them get paid for their work. It makes sense."

-Editorial, Chicago Tribune, September 28, 2008

"Broadcast AM and FM radio stations in the United States do not pay royalties to the performers of the music they play for your listening pleasure. Surprising? Unbelievable? It is - and shameful, and wrong."

"Performers should get paid - there's simply no reason to think they should happily play for free."

"It's time to end an exemption that for 80 years - since the debut of broadcast radio - has been unfair and way out of tune."

-Editorial, Philadelphia Inquirer, March 8, 2008

"No other commercial electronic medium in the United States enjoys the right to appropriate the work of artists without paying fair compensation."

"The session musicians who provide unique sounds and treatments for popular music and the singers whose voices can create hits deserve more than recognition. They deserve remuneration."

-Editorial, Houston Chronicle, March 13, 2008

"Competition is part of business. And most radio stations don't take many chances on lesser-known artists anyway. Meanwhile, artists and labels who do get played are being told by everyone from armchair moguls to record execs that they need to diversify their revenue streams and focus on models that don't rely on selling records."

"Forcing stations to pay an annual fee of $5,000 and up for the right to play music makes sense, even if the RIAA thinks so too."

- Eliot Van Buskirk, Wired.com Epicenter, March 11, 2009

"We all know that no one listens to radio for the commercials."

"It's time for the United States to join the global industry standard and provide a full performance right for performances broadcast over the air. Congress is poised to make a decision that will dramatically affect our artists' careers."

- Billboard.com, August 4, 2007

"I think broadcasters are pursuing the wrong tactics in this one and this has helped turned a natural ally into an enemy"

"Radio should recognize that it eventually will lose this fight and work now to restore a profitable amity with performers rather than damaging that relationship further."

-Editorial, Radio World, January 16, 2008

It certainly would help side musicians and session musicians, who may develop a catchy song phrase without getting songwriting credit for it."

"There are international aspects to the practice, as well. The United States is the only free-market nation that does not require radio stations to pay artists and labels when their performances are broadcast on the radio. Because foreign performers are not paid royalties on music played here, other nations decline to pay American artists for music played there."

- Editorial, The Buffalo News, January 30, 2008

"Performers ask only for a small cut of the profits commercial radio makes by broadcasting their work. The formula could be written to avoid hardships for small religious and community stations."

"Singer [Sam] Moore is right. The artists who 'created the recordings that are the soundtracks of our lives' deserve to be paid."

- Editorial, The Tampa Tribune, November 2, 2007