I'm late on getting into the nuts and bolts of this issue, but I'm on it now, and I have to say my piece real quick.

I don't actually listen to the radio, but the buzz that came around recently was this whole thing about how personalities were making a big fuss on "urban" radio stations, hollerin about how "they are trying to destroy Black radio stations". It was presented as some ol "fight for your rights" scenario, and me being in the music industry,and well, being Black, I decided to look more into it, wondering how it would effect me as an artist.

Well, lo and behold, it's a total lie. There IS a bill out there, proposed by Rep John Conyers, that proposes that broadcasters pay a performance royalty to artists and labels. Different personalities in many cities, got on the air and pushed it to the public as a "tax", which is a total lie.

A tax goes to a government entity of some sort. This royalty goes to artists and record companies. Let me explain:

You ever wonder if Luther, or his family get paid, every time "Superstar" gets played on the radio? Well, NO. That song was written by the Carpenters back in the day. It was a minor hit for them, but because of how Luther arranged it and sang it, it was a huge hit for him. It plays all the time, and the only people who get paid for it are the publisher and the writer. Luther's voice made the difference, and people tune into the "classic soul" station, in whatever city to hear Luther sing it. This bill proposes that he gets some change for that. Many artists are not writers, but if they are the "performers" of a classic, they should be compensated, maybe not as much, but somewhat like the writers are. This has been on the table since at least 1979, and America is the only industrialized nation to not support this-- well, China, North Korea, and the CONGO agree with America, so that counts for something huh?

What makes it worse is that in countries like, Canada, UK, and Japan, where our music is played-- American artists don't get paid performance royalites from them, because they refuse to pay if the US won't reciprocate, so American artists get cheated Worldwide.

We all know that many artists who performed classic songs, may not be fortunate enough to have lasting careers. Not many do. It's good that writers, like myself, can continue to make money, for as long as we control our copyrights. It would also be nice to know that the singer of an epic tune, is seeing SOMETHING for their work.


That's what this bill proposes. The only reason it hasn't passed in all this time is because of the power that lobbyists for the Broadcasting companies have been exerting.


The broadcasters would have you believe that the evil record company's came up with this idea yesterday, just because they aren't selling many records any more. A total untruth. Again, it's been issue since well before the boom they all enjoyed in the 80' and 90's. I have issues with labels, no question, but that aint one of em.


What I find even more despicable about their message is this whole thing about how it's really for the small independent stations, like that's who they are really fighting for.

Check this out. I need to mention that there is actually a segment of radio that DOES have to pay this performance right already. A segment who isn't covered by the lobbyists so they had to pay outright. Satellite, Internet, and digital radio- the real independents, who are the enemy of the am/fm stations. Funny how that bill passed a few years ago, yet no one shouted about it on the radio- yet they claim to be fighting for the "little man".Really?

Look, it probably looks like I may be cutting my own throat by bringing this up, because afterall, I'm supposed to get played on the radio for you to hear my song, know who I am, and maybe buy my music right? Well, I'm not the only artist who agrees with this proposal, matter of fact, I'm extremely late in getting hip to it, and more than likely the smallest fish to fry in this. The seeds for this HR were sown by artists much more famous than me, including the Dixie Chicks, Brian Wilson, Aimee Mann, Los Lonely Boys, Judy Collins, Don Henley, Tony Bennett, and John Legend.

With this blog, I'm just announcing my support for such a cause, and I have the radio stations to thank for bringing the matter to my attention. Whaddyaknow? They are useful in disseminating information.

I don't even wanna get into what I like or dislike about radio. That aint even important, and like I said, I've found so many other ways to get new music and info, I'm not even mad about that anymore- I just don't like the lie they are telling folk, and the racial spin, which is irrelevant in my opinion. If you wanna know more about the bill and what it actually is, I suggest a quick google search on HR848 or the term "performance royalties".

I wish all radio stations, whatever the genre, the best of luck in surviving when they have to start paying performance royalties.