Washington » Orrin Hatch, Utah's song-writing senator, is at odds with broadcasters and just about every member of the state Legislature over a bill that would require traditional radio stations to pay performers for the rights to air their music.
Hatch is the primary Republican sponsor of what he calls the Performance Rights Act. The measure, also sponsored by Sen. Patrick Leahy, D-Vt., would eliminate the royalty exemption now held by over-the-air stations.
"This legislation would ensure that musical performers and songwriters receive fair compensation from all companies across the broadcast spectrum," said Hatch, noting that satellite radio and cable companies already pay performers. Radio stations now pay royalties only to composers.
But Utah broadcasters, backed by 96 of the 104 state lawmakers, say this legislation is unfair and would force radio stations to cut jobs or move to talk formats.
"To require local radio stations to pay a fee while at the same time promoting the music industry's product is an unreasonable requirement," the lawmakers said in a letter, pushed by the Utah Broadcasters Association and state Rep. Julie Fisher, R-Fruit Heights.
Not too long ago record companies were illegally trying to pay stations to get their music on the air, but now they are trying to flip it around and get the stations to pay them, said Stu Stanek, general manger of Clear Channel Salt Lake, referencing New York cases settled in 2006. Stanek sees the bill as an attempt by record companies to make up lost revenue from music piracy.
"That isn't really radio's fault," he said. "We pay them by promoting their product."
But Hatch views the issue differently. Radio stations may promote the music, but without those tunes most radio stations wouldn't exist.
"It is an attempt to strike a harmonious balance between fair compensation for artists and a vibrant radio industry," he said when introducing the bill last month.
Hatch writes and performs his own music, having previously released a few CDs. He has made tens of thousands of dollars in royalties and has a platinum record for co-writing a song that appeared on the album "WOW Hits 2005," a compilation of religious pop songs.
This is a repeat effort for Hatch and Leahy, who sponsored similar legislation last session. The bill would allow educational, public or religious stations to pay a reduced royalty rate. Similarly, stations that make less than $1.25 million a year could pay a flat fee.
