AFM President Thomas F. Lee said, “The American Federation of Musicians … is extremely disappointed by Radio One and its Chair Cathy Hughes’ decision not to participate in today’s House Judiciary Committee Hearings on the future of the Performance Rights Act (H.R. 848). It is irresponsible that they have decided not to take part in a hearing on issues vital to minority-owned radio, including H.R. 848, which Radio One has heavily criticized in the past several weeks.”
RBR/TVBR observation: Huh? Lee must have seen a different schedule than the one posted on the Committee’s website. The hearing was supposed to be about trends affecting minority broadcast ownership. Many believe PRA will hinder minority ownership, not enhance it. Further, Judiciary has already had hearings, a markup and a vote on H.R. 848. We don’t blame Radio One for avoiding a meeting when it was being set up for ambush on a topic that had no business being discussed at all.
