WASHINGTON, September 10, 2009 - A broad range of organizations, including the Property Rights Alliance, the National Consumers League, Free Press, the American Federation of Musicians of the United States and Canada (AFL-CIO), the Parents Television Council, The Recording Academy, the Music Managers Forum, the Institute for Policy Innovation, the American Association of Independent Music, and individual music managers have filed comments with the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) in support of the musicFIRST Coalition's request that the FCC investigate radio broadcasters.

In comparison, only one organization not aligned with the broadcasting industry filed comments in support of broadcasters.

musicFIRST's request to the commission details how radio stations across the country refuse to air musicFIRST ads, threaten artists who support the effort to create a fair performance right on radio and continue to run misleading ads produced by the National Association of Broadcasters - all in an effort to further their own private commercial interests at the expense of their public interest obligations.

musicFIRST asked the FCC to investigate these activities. musicFIRST also encouraged the FCC to consider reducing the radio broadcast license term, currently seven years, to hold broadcasters accountable for violations of their public interest obligations. "The seven-year broadcast license term may be too long for any real accountability on the part of broadcasters," said Jennifer Bendall, executive director of the musicFIRST Coalition.

"We are grateful to have broad-based support from consumer, property rights and media advocacy organizations and the music community for an investigation of radio," Bendall said. "Broadcasters enjoy broad First Amendment rights, but they can't punish artists for exercising their First Amendment rights, too."

A group of 14 music mangers told the Commission, "while we respect broadcasters' First Amendment rights, the broadcasters' intimidation is designed to suppress speech that is not even being made on their radio stations. Indeed, artists are being targeted for advocacy in which they engage at public meetings or in the halls of Congress. Broadcasters are taking these actions solely to further their own economic interests. It cannot be in the public interest for broadcasters to use a public resource in this manner."

Irony was a pointed theme in comments filed by The Property Rights Alliance. The group told the commission that it supports the Performance Rights Act and then says about radio's efforts to silence artists, "under current law, broadcasters should not boycott artists for joining a coalition, especially given the fact they are currently using the artists' music for free."

Free Press notes that "broadcasters are licensed to operate in the public interest - not pure self interest."

The Parents Television Council expressed concern that if broadcasters are allowed refuse to run ads because running the ads could hurt their bottom line interests, "one can easily foresee broadcasters refusing to air further educational information, whether paid or unpaid, about parental control devices since programmers have a built in conflict of interest in implementing the TV Ratings System and V-chip technology that is dependent on them."

Workers rights are at the heart of comments filed by the American Federation of Musicians of the United States and Canada (AFL-CIO) and the National Consumers League. The groups note that boycotting artists who speak out in support of a radio performance right, "would be tantamount to an employer threatening an employee for unionizing, demanding higher wages or otherwise trying to protect his or her civil rights - and using public resources to do it."

"These groups are sending a simple message to the FCC," Bendall said. "We respect a broadcaster's right to oppose the Performance Rights Act. But we cannot tolerate broadcasters' use of the public airwaves to stifle debate, threaten artists and musicians and undermine the public interest in pursuit of their narrow, private business interests."

"We are grateful to these organizations and others for their support for fundamental fairness in the public debate about the Performance Rights Act," Bendall said.

The full set of comments is available on the FCC's web site.