Congress’ PROMOTE Act Grants Right To Pull Songs Off Radio, Since They’re Not Paying You Anyway

Congressmen Darryl Issa and Ted Deutch recently introduced the new bipartisan PROMOTE Act which, if passed, would grant owners of sound recording copyrights the exclusive right to prohibit the radio broadcast of said recordings.

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Guest post by Chris Castle on Music Technology Policy

Congressmen Darryl Issa and Ted Deutch introduced the PROMOTE Act today, a bill that “grant[s] owners of copyright in sound recordings the exclusive right to prohibit the broadcast transmission of the sound recordings by means of terrestrial radio stations, and for other purposes.”The bi-partisan PROMOTE Act is great news and, as Congressman Issa said:calls the bluff of both sides in the debate over performance rights. The terrestrial stations playing these works without compensating the artists argue that airtime provides exposure and promotional value, while the artists argue the status-quo allows radio stations to profit on artists’ performances without providing any due compensation. Our bill puts forward a workable solution that would allow those who would otherwise be paid a performance right to opt out of allowing broadcasters to play their music if they feel they’re not being appropriately compensated.This is a great way to start the negotiation over Fair Play, Fair Pay and resolving the pre-72 issues.