Four more House members signed on as co-sponsors...

Four more House members signed on as co-sponsors to the Local Radio Freedom Act (H. Con. Res. 16), giving the measure a majority of support in the House, with 219 co-sponsors, said an NAB news release Tuesday (http://bit.ly/1lv7Wo7). Reps. William Keating, D-Mass., Stephen Lynch, D-Mass., John Culberson, R-Texas, and David McKinley, R-W.Va., are the most recent co-sponsors, it said. The resolution would oppose “'any new performance fee, tax, royalty, or other charge’ on local broadcast radio stations,” said the release. “Signing onto a commemorative resolution, most commonly used to honor sports teams and name post offices, is an empty gesture and hardly a reliable barometer of support,” said Ted Kalo, executive director of the musicFIRST Coalition, in response to the NAB release. “This is particularly true when the resolution itself hides its position in the fine print,” he said. “We are confident many of these ‘cosponsors’ also support performance rights,” said Kalo.