FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Marty Machowsky (202) 297-4230 or Joe Osborne (202) 334-1145

WASHINGTON - The musicFIRST Coalition today held a press conference on Capitol Hill with musicians, civil rights, women's rights and activists groups to announce its 2010 campaign, including a new website at www.musicfirstcoalition.org that will be dedicated to mobilizing consumers and fans around the country on the importance of fair pay for musicians, town hall meetings and grassroots activity in major cities nationwide, online artist-led campaigns, and an expanded group of partners. Participants included Grammy® Award-winning recording artist Dionne Warwick, Hilary O. Shelton, Director of the NAACP Washington Bureau and Senior Vice President for Advocacy and Policy, Susan Scanlan, Chair of the National Council of Women's Organizations, and Brent Wilkes, Executive Director of the League of United Latin American Citizens (LULAC), as well as representatives from other organizations in the music community.

"This is a critical issue for not only those of us who have made music our careers, but for those who are trying to make a name for themselves in the business," said Grammy® Award-winning recording artist Dionne Warwick. "Performers from every genre of music should be fairly compensated for their art. Thus far, radio is the only medium that fails to provide artists with fair compensation for the use of their music and we feel it is time for radio companies to join Satellite, Internet, and Cable music distributors in giving musical artists what they have worked so hard to earn."

The new coalition will include additional partner organizations such as the Labor Council for Latin American Advancement (LCLAA), National Congress of Black Women, National Puerto Rican Coalition, National Coalition of Latino Clergy and Christian Leaders, National Latino Farmers and Ranchers Trade Association, Labor Heritage Foundation, A. Philip Randolph Institute, Asian Pacific American Labor Alliance, Coalition of Black Trade Unionists, Afro-Latino Development Alliance, League of Rural Voters, National Gay & Lesbian Chamber of Commerce, and National Association for Equal Opportunity in Higher Education.

"Being paid fairly for your labor is one of the most basic civil rights, which is why we are pleased to support musicians everywhere to ensure that they are duly and fairly compensated when their music is enjoyed by radio listeners," said Hilary O. Shelton, Director of the NAACP Washington Bureau and Senior Vice President for Advocacy and Policy.

"American music is a national treasure that should be protected and the talent that creates it must be paid fairly for their work," said Susan Scanlan, Chair of the National Council of Women's Organizations. "That is not possible if the artists who create rock, R&B, jazz, hip-hop, Country and more, are not fairly compensated by the executives of corporate radio."

"The musicFIRST Coalition is to be commended for its work thus far in ensuring that many of America's most talented workers, our recording artists, receive the pay for radio air play that they deserve. We are pleased to join in this effort and look forward to working together in the future," said Brent Wilkes, Executive Director of the League of United Latin American Citizens (LULAC).

The musicFIRST coalition is a partnership of artists and organizations in the music community who support compensating performers for their work when it's played over the air. For more information visit www.musicfirstcoalition.org.