This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2013, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
The Utah Music Association has taken a postition in regards to the the IRFA (Internet Radio Fairness Act), and Executive Director Tyler Monks sent a letter to Rep. Jason Chaffetz (R-Utah) om January.The UMA is taking a position against this Bill.
In a newsletter, Monks wrote: "In a nutshell it reduces the royalties paid to artists and pads the pockets of Pandora. I encourage all Utah music professionals to write Jason Chaffetz and express your concerns with this bill he is sponsoring. Many songwriting organizations in Nashville, New York, & Los Angeles are against this bill. I'm convinced this is not the solution. I encourage each of you to write a letter to Jason Chaffetz and express your disapproval of this Bill."Hers is a letter that the UMA composer that you can copy and send to Jason Chaffetz' Office:
Dear Rep Chaffetz,
I write to you concerning the Internet Radio Fairness Act.
As I see it, there is little that is fair about the proposed legislation. While it is not fair that businesses compete in the same industry and pay different expenses for the same product, it is also not fair to take only one competitor's side on this argument. The creators of the music are strongly and solidly against the IRFA.
They do not want to see revenues drop as much as two thirds while millions of people still stream their music for free daily. Yet the government won't even give them a say about how their product is dispersed online. Billions of dollars are stolen through pirated websites and our government does little to prevent this.
Those involved in the discussion over royalty fees should be the artists, writers, record labels and other interested parties – but not the government, bureaucrats and legislators. This is not so big a chore that the government must step in and mandate a "willing buyer, willing seller" or a previous set benchmark to allow for these groups to do business. They are more than capable to come to these conclusions themselves.
Pandora is a huge sensation with millions of members, I am confident that they have the power to negotiate and come to terms with the artists and labels as other companies have.
You have said yourself the government should not choose winners and losers, but that is exactly what this bill does - it makes the creators of the product the losers, and the distributors and investors big winners. This hurts Utah artists trying to make a living doing music. Lowering pay for artists is not the solution.
I would ask that you withdraw your support for this bill.
Rep. Jason Chaffetz 51 S University Ave., Suite 318 Provo, UT 84601 Phone: (801) 851-2500
2464 Rayburn House Office Building Washington, DC 20515Phone: (202) 225-7751