House Lawmakers Say Musicians Shouldn’t Get Paid for Radio Plays

A bipartisan majority within the House of Representatives has voiced support for the Local Radio Freedom Act (LRFA), which would prevent Congress from imposing “any new performance fee, tax, royalty, or other charge” upon terrestrial radio stations if signed into law.

We first reported on the Local Radio Freedom Act in 2013, when the concise legislation garnered the backing of 139 representatives and 11 senators. Seven years (and much lobbying from the multibillion-dollar broadcasting industry) later, the bill has officially surpassed the 218-vote simple majority needed to pass through the House, with 223 Republican and Democratic lawmakers having expressed their intention to vote for the proposal.

The latter figure reflects a nearly 100-vote gain in about 18 months, as just 124 members  of congress  disclosed their approval of the legislation in February 2019. (Four years before that, however, 200 members of Congress rallied behind the bill.) Read more in Digitalmusicnews.com.