Radio should be required to pay performers

A bill now before Congress has the potential to correct a decades-old loophole that is hurting the next generation of musicians.

- GENE SIMMONS GUEST CONTRIBUTOR

THIS WEEKEND, as the 68th Grammy Awards celebrates the rich tapestry of American music here in Los Angeles, we should be mindful of an enormous problem that has persisted for many decades in our industry.

AM/FM radio corporations make billions of dollars each year playing our music — but under U.S. law, they are not required to compensate the performers.

That's right. Every artist who performs at the Grammys this weekend will be paid nothing when their music plays on AM/FM radio. And I’m talking about all artists: Elvis, Sinatra, Bruno Mars, Taylor Swift. While radio station owners pay songwriters and copyright holders, they do not pay performers, thanks to a loophole in copyright law and a powerful broadcast lobby that has protected it. The industry argues that radio offers “free promotion” for artists — but let’s be real: Fewer people than ever are discovering new music on AM/FM radio.

Last year alone, AM/FM radio corporations made nearly $14 billion selling ads. Artists got zero for the music that keeps listeners tuning in.