There’s yet another effort brewing on Capitol Hill involving performance royalties that radio broadcasting companies, Sirius XM Satellite Radio, and the streaming audio players may need to start sweating over.
This latest effort is courtesy of Iowa Republican Sen. Charles Grassley, and was introduced March 22. It already has bipartisan support from three co-sponsors.Introducing S.2625, a bill that would amend title 17 of the United States Code.
That’s D.C. parlance for the nation’s copyright law, and Sen. Grassley’s legislation would provide for the payment of performance royalties to “certain producers, mixers, and sound engineers of sound recordings, and for other purposes.”
Little else is known at this time about the bill, which is generally sent to the Library of Congress from the Government Publishing Office between 24 and 48 hours after they are introduced on the Senate floor. However, delays can occur based on volume.
But, given the nature of the bill, there’s a good chance the NAB will be keeping tabs on this legislation’s progress.
Co-sponsors already signed on to Grassley’s legislation include both California Democrats — Sens. Kamala Harris and Dianne Feinstein, and Republican Sen. Bob Corker of Tennessee.
This is clearly a calculated political move by the legislators, given the presence of recording studios and companies servicing the music industry in Los Angeles and Nashville, respectively.
What remains to be seen is who else signs on to support the bill.
There could be scant support. The bipartisan “Local Radio Freedom Act,” a resolution that opposes “any new performance fee, tax, royalty, or other charge” on local broadcast radio stations, presently has 26 Senate co-sponsors and 220 co-sponsors in the House of Representatives.
