While visiting Washington to receive a lifetime achievement award for his contributions to popular songwriting, Sir Paul McCartney weighed in on one of the biggest music industry issues currently being debated on Capitol Hill.

At a press conference Tuesday, The ex-Beatle was asked if he felt vocalists should receive royalties when recordings of their performances are played over the airwaves. Currently only songwriters and publishers do.

"I think they should," he said, indicating that recording artists should be paid for their work in general. "I've had the best of it," added McCartney, but he asked reporters to imagine a young songwriter trying to make a living from his music while having to deal with free distribution of his work. "If he doesn't get paid for that, it's unfair."

http://blogs.forbes.com/beltway/2010/06/01/paul-mccartney-to-radio-stati...

WASHINGTON - The musicFIRST Coalition held a press conference on Capitol Hill this afternoon to announce a new effort aimed at building support for workers' rights for performers. Participants included AFL-CIO President Rich Trumka, Chairman George Miller (D-CA), Chairman John Conyers (D-MI), Chairman Bob Brady (D-PA), Tom Lee, President of the American Federation of Musicians, Roberta Reardon, President of the American Federation of Radio and Television Artists, and Peter Yarrow of Peter, Paul and Mary.

"The labor movement was founded on the principle that a hard day's work deserves a fair day's pay. That's the principle at stake in the fight for the Performance Rights Act," said Trumka. "Working people understand too well that big corporations use their power and influence in Washington to protect their profits at the expense of the rest of us."

"The reckless greed that drives Wall Street is the same as the unconscionable greed that drives the handful of conglomerate corporate radio executives that control 75 percent of our nation's radio stations. If you care about music, if you care about the right of Americans to get paid for their work, if you care about doing what is right, be a part of the good fight for our performing brothers and sisters."

Musicians Union President Tom Lee outlined new Labor outreach efforts in the following states: New York, Minnesota, Ohio, Wisconsin, Iowa, West Virginia, Pennsylvania, Connecticut, Georgia, Michigan, Florida, among others. The new campaign will include town hall events, press events, and a new outreach effort by state and local union members to engage members of Congress in support of fair pay for musicians. Following the remarks, Peter Yarrow of Peter, Paul, and Mary gave an acoustic performance on behalf of working musicians supporting passage of a Performance Rights Act.

"Musicians don't want a handout -- they just want to be paid a fair wage for work," said Chairman Miller. "The important thing to remember is this: Passage of the Performance Rights Act will stop corporate radio from continuing to exploit the labor of working Americans - Americans who spend decades passionately honing their craft to produce works that resonate with our inner angels."

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.

WASHINGTON, April 21, 2010 - The musicFIRST Coalition today announced that House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin have added their voices to the growing, bipartisan chorus of support in favor of the Performance Rights Act, which would ensure that artists, musicians and rights holders are paid when their music is played radio stations. This comes on the heel of statements of support for musician royalties from the Obama Administration as well as support for a performance right royalty from Grover Norquist, anti-tax advocate and President of Americans for Tax Reform. This support was highlighted in an ad in today's Roll Call, which was paid for by the musicFIRST Coalition, and can be viewed here.

"Artists deserve to be compensated for their work and rewarded for their contributions to our economy and our culture...You have an army of advocates standing by your side - from both parties - on Capitol Hill," said House Speaker Nancy Pelosi in remarks made last week at the annual GRAMMY on the Hill advocacy day sponsored by The Recording Academy. "Whether it's Chairman Howard Berman; or GRAMMYs on the Hill award winners Senator Durbin and Congressman Issa; or artists leading the charge - the rights of performers are not forgotten. I look forward to working with these leaders and with Chairman Conyers to find a way forward on the issue of performers' rights."

Senator Durbin recently announced that he will add his name as a cosponsor of the Performance Rights Act, S. 379, in the Senate, and the Obama Administration also sent a letter to Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Patrick Leahy calling the issue "a matter of fundamental fairness to performers." In addition, the issue recently gained renewed support from individuals and groups such as the NAACP, the Progress and Freedom Foundation, former House Majority Leader Dick Armey, and Citizens Against Government Waste.

"AM and FM radio stations earn billions every year in ad revenue. They enjoy the free use of the public airwaves worth tens of billions of dollars. Yet they don't pay a single penny to the artists and musicians who bring music to life and listeners' ears to the radio dial. It's unfair. It's unjust. And it's going to change," said Jennifer Bendall, Executive Director of the musicFIRST Coalition.

A copy of Speaker Pelosi's remarks at GRAMMYs on the Hill is available here. Watch Speaker Pelosi and Senator Durbin's remarks here. Read the Obama Administration's letter here.

The goal of the musicFIRST (Fairness in Radio Starting Today) Coalition is to ensure that aspiring performers, local musicians and well-known artists are compensated for their music when it is played both today and in the future. Of all the ways we listen to music, corporate radio is the only one that receives special treatment. Corporate radio has a free pass to play music - refusing to pay even a fraction of a penny to the performers that brought it to life. The musicFIRST (Fairness in Radio Starting Today) Coalition is committed to making sure everyone, from up-and-coming artists to our favorites from years-ago, is guaranteed Fair Pay for Air Play.

For more information on the musicFIRST (Fairness in Radio Starting Today) Coalition please visit www.musicFIRSTcoalition.org. Supporting organizations include: American Association of Independent Music (A2IM), American Federation of Musicians (AFM), American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (AFTRA), Christian Music Trade Association (CMTA), Music Managers Forum - USA (MMF- USA), The Latin Recording Academy, The Recording Academy, The Rhythm & Blues Foundation, Inc, Recording Artists' Coalition (RAC), Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), Society of Singers, SoundExchange and Vocal Group Hall of Fame.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) and Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) have joined the ranks of supporters of the Performance Rights Act, which would ensure that artists, musicians and rights holders are compensated when their music is played on broadcast radio stations.

Currently, AM and FM radio stations don't pay royalties to performers, which go to music writers and publishers. Opponents of the bill argue it could hurt smaller radio stations and cause further loss of employment in the industry.

http://www.variety.com/article/VR1118018134.html?categoryId=1064&cs=1

A founding member of "The Supremes," a Broadway conductor and stage
actor tried to get the attention of broadcasters on the Las Vegas strip
today.

The performers held a press conference to push the
Performance Rights Act, which would require broadcasters to pay
royalties to singers, bands and other performers whose songs air on the
radio. Broadcasters are in Las Vegas this week for their annual trade
show.

http://thehill.com/blogs/hillicon-valley/technology/91981-musicians-push...

The Obama Administration announced its support for legislation to require AM and FM radio stations to pay royalties to performers for airing their music.

Musical artists get royalties when their songs are played on satellite and Internet radio and cable TV music channels.

But when their recordings are played on AM and FM radio, if they didn't write the song as well as perform it, the artists receive only the satisfaction knowing their music is getting airplay.

Not surprisingly, the artists have long hated this state of affairs. They want to get paid. And the Obama Administration wants them to get paid, too.

The Associated Press reports that Commerce Department general counsel Cameron Kerry sent a letter to Sen. Patrick Leahy, chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee, expressing the administration's support for legislation the senator introduced to require radio stations to pay royalties.

An excerpt:

"If enacted, the bill would advance public welfare by compensating American performers and the record companies that produce and distribute their creative works," Kerry wrote.

The legislation has enjoyed star-studded support. Entertainers Tony Bennett, Sheryl Crow, will.i.am, Herbie Hancock and Patti LaBelle have all made visits to Capitol Hill to lobby for it.

But it also has some powerful opposition, the National Broadcasters Association, which argues that performers already benefit because radio stations playing their work drive listeners to buy music and concert tickets. The broadcasters' group also says it threatens thousands of radio jobs.

"We're disappointed the Commerce Department would embrace legislation that would kill jobs in the U.S. and send hundreds of millions of dollars to foreign record labels that have exploited artists whose careers were nurtured by American radio stations," said Dennis Wharton, executive vice president of the broadcasters' association.

Not that it's any more than a coincidence, but I remember seeing Tony Bennett at a Santa Monica, Calif. fundraiser for Cameron Kerry's brother, Sen. John Kerry, during the 2004 presidential campaign. Crow appeared at John Kerry events too. Again, I'm not suggesting that there's any kind of payback here, only that politics and entertainment converge a lot in American life.

This issue of royalties to musicians appears to be one of the ever rarer bipartisan ones in Washington. Both Tennessee senators, Republicans Lamar Alexander and Bob Corker, support the legislation, which makes sense since there are a lot of recording artists in Nashville. Senators representing other entertainment capitals, California and New York, also have signed on as sponsors. Then there's Orrin Hatch of Utah. Maybe it's because he's a musical performer in his own right.

There's heavy bipartisan support in the House, too.

The strong bipartisan support in Congress and from the White House suggests that the terrestrial broadcasting industry's long run of being able to stiff musicians whose recordings it plays could be nearing an end.

http://www.npr.org/blogs/thetwo-way/2010/04/obama_supports_amfm_radio_roya.html

The Obama administration is supporting legislation to make radio stations pay royalties to performers when they play their music.

The Commerce Department's general counsel said in a letter Thursday that providing compensation to performers "is a matter of fundamental fairness."

Satellite radio, Internet radio and cable TV music channels already pay fees to performers and songwriters. However, AM and FM radio stations pay royalties only to the songwriters - not the performers.

http://abcnews.go.com/Entertainment/wireStory?id=10264047

The Obama administration on Thursday signaled its support for a contentious bill that would require radio broadcasters to pay musicians, recording artists and record labels when their songs are played over the air.

The Performance Rights Act would amend U.S. copyright law, which already requires that satellite and digital radio compensate performers, to cover broadcast stations that have long been exempt, with the rationale that their airplay is a soruce of valuable promotion for artists.

http://www.variety.com/article/VR1118017175.html?categoryId=23&cs=1

Nashville chart-toppers such as Taylor Swift and Kesha certainly would get their cut, but to Dave Pomeroy, the Performance Rights Act is a working-class issue.

Pomeroy, a bassist and president of the Nashville Association of Musicians union, counts himself as a rank-and-file artist strumming out a modest living. Business could be better for himself and thousands of other Nashville musicians, Pomeroy said, if they received a fair shake from the radio industry.

"All we're asking for is for radio to do the right thing," Pomeroy said. "We can't give this away. Music isn't free. It's a day job."

http://www.bizjournals.com/boston/othercities/nashville/stories/2010/03/29/story7.html?b=1269835200^3097091&s=industry&i=media_marketing

Wayne Moss, a 72-year-old rocker from Nashville who played with Bob Dylan, doesn't listen to satellite radio. He's never heard of Pandora, the Internet radio station.

So he was surprised when he got a call from a stranger in Washington, D.C., telling him he had a check coming because of his satellite and Internet radio play.

"It's a wonderful thing," Moss said. "If they want to start playing my music in outer space, that sounds good to me."

Recording artists aren't paid for their performances on traditional, over-the-air radio. In a legal arrangement that dates to the early days of radio, publishers and songwriters are paid for radio play, but the performing artists aren't.

http://www.tennessean.com/article/20100328/BUSINESS01/3280347/2221/BUSINESS