FSF Asks Congress to Grant Royalties for Radio Airplay

Congress should allow sound recording owners to collect royalties when their songs are played on the radio, Free State Foundation Policy Studies Director Seth Cooper wrote Monday. Broadcasters and the recording industry have disagreed on a longstanding legislative debate about the prospect of performance royalty payments for radio airplay (see 2108120059). Congress should stop privileging “radio stations with free rider use of copyrighted sound recordings that belong to third parties,” Cooper wrote in support of the American Music Fairness Act (HR-4130).