It’s been nearly 80 years since musicians began demanding that radio stations pay for the rights to play songs. And Jennifer Bendall, executive director of the MusicFirst Coalition, says Congress is just months away from passing a bill requiring radio stations to face the music.

Why has it taken so long for artists to get traction on this issue?

Radio stations used to pay artists for live performances. But once records became popular, stations realized they could just pop a record on rather than shelling out for a live performance.

http://www.politico.com/click/stories/0912/a_different_take_on_pay_to_play.html