James Delahunty
25 May 2007 19:10
Looking yet again for another stream of revenue, the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) has set its sights on public radio. The trade group that represents the music industry in the United States, believes that radio has been given free play time for too many years. The RIAA believes that this fact is unfair.
It's not just the RIAA either who think its time for public radio to pay up, Mary Wilson, one of the original members of the Supremes, is an advocate for this cause too. "After so many years of not being compensated, it would be nice to now at this late date to at least start. They've gotten 50-some years of free play. Now maybe it's time to pay up," Wilson said.
She claims that the exemption enjoyed by public radio forced artists to continually go on tour to earn money. The National Association of Broadcasters (NAB) does not agree with the RIAA's position at all. "The existing system actually provides the epitome of fairness for all parties: free music for free promotion," says NAB president David Rehr. Public radio stations have warned that having a royalty "tax" would cause serious financial harm to them.
Source:
DailyTech