ARTIST GROUPS AND UNIONS FILE JOINT
REPLY COMMENTS
ON TRANSITION TO DIGITAL AUDIO BROADCASTING AT FCC
Groups call on Commission to protect fair compensation
for the creative music professionals who provide the backbone of
the broadcast industry
Washington, August 2, 2004 – Today, five prominent
organizations representing recording artists and musicians filed reply comments
at the Federal Communications Commission in the proceeding examining the upcoming
transition from analog to digital audio broadcasting (DAB) (MM Docket 99-325).
In their joint filing, the American Federation of Television
and Radio Artists (AFTRA), American Federation of Musicians (AFM),
the Future of Music Coalition (FMC), The Recording Academy®,
and the Recording Artists’ Coalition (RAC) expressed broad
support for and excitement about the opportunities that digital audio
broadcasting presents to citizens and recording artists. Recording
musicians, vocalists and other music professionals see great potential
for increased access to the airwaves, greater musical diversity and
more localism.
However, the artist groups also urged the FCC to recognize
the potential that DAB has to disrupt or diminish existing revenue
streams on which artists depend. Because of DAB’s reported
capacity to let radio listeners rewind, buffer and record radio broadcasts
and songs, many in the music industry are concerned that DAB will
diminish CD sales and even displace the emerging Internet technologies
that offer legal downloads or streams to music fans.
As a result, the artist groups called on the FCC to recognize
the value of recording artists’ work and ensure that the DAB
transition also includes a technological and regulatory framework
that will ensure that recording artists, songwriters and copyright
owners are fairly compensated in the future.
In particular, the artist groups expressed the need for
sound recordings to have a public performance royalty that the broadcaster
pays to the performer when a recording is broadcast. The US
already has this type of performance right for musical compositions
and for digital transmissions of sound recordings, however terrestrial
broadcasts are currently exempt from paying sound recording performance
royalties. The recording artist groups noted in their reply
comments that DAB has developed differently from what Congress envisioned
when it exempted DAB from the performance right in 1995. In
fact, DAB has developed into the exact type of service that Congress
intended to be covered by a sound recording performance right license.
The recording artist groups also acknowledged that DAB
threatens their revenue streams and, as a result, there may need
to be some form of content control and usage rules placed on works
or on receivers in order to constrain the indiscriminate recording
and internet transmission of copyrighted materials. The groups
urged the FCC to conduct a full Notice of Proposed Rulemaking on
this particular issue before allowing DAB to launch.
Finally, the group reminded the FCC that the transition
to DAB cannot be viewed in isolation from current media ownership
and localism proceedings. The artist groups join other public
interest and media reform organizations in expressing concern that
the FCC is ready to hand this valuable public resource – the
radio spectrum – to incumbent broadcasters without condition. In
the filing, the artist groups urge the FCC to recognize that digital
radio is a new and powerful medium, one in which incumbent broadcasters
must agree to meet new standards that embrace and fulfill the fundamental
obligations to enhance competition, localism and diversity.
Representatives from AFTRA, AFM, Recording Artists’ Coalition,
The Recording Academy and FMC further clarified the message in this
filing:
John Connolly, National President, AFTRA: “DAB
has great potential to benefit the public and recording artists. However,
without content restrictions and a public performance right, DAB
will make it very hard for artists to survive financially. Recording
artists’ ability to earn a living in this business is already
very precarious, and DAB will undermine the few income streams available
to recording artists. The needs of consumers and broadcasters
must be balanced with the needs of recording artists to survive financially
and continue to create the great American recordings which benefit
our entire society and culture.”
Thomas F. Lee, International President, AFM: “The
development of Digital Audio Broadcasting (DAB) is positive for musicians
by promoting their music to a potentially wider audience. However,
we are concerned that our members be protected from potential exploitation
through the use of performance rights and content control.”
Michael Bracy, Policy Director, FMC: “There
is widespread consensus that massive consolidation of commercial
radio ownership has had a devastating impact on the traditional regulatory
goals of localism, competition and diversity. It is therefore
troubling that some would view DAB not as a way to address these
concerns, but rather as tool for conglomerates like Clear Channel
to capture secondary revenue streams from their existing licenses.
Digital Audio Broadcasting has the potential to reinvigorate radio,
but only if the FCC has the courage to insist that the primary beneficiaries
of this transition are citizens, not conglomerates."
Rebecca Greenberg, RAC: “The Recording
Artists’ Coalition looks forward to a digital future that will
allow for greater access to the radio for musicians, and more choices
for music fans. But policymakers and the FCC must recognize
that we’re at a crucial crossroads and that recording artists’ livelihoods
are at stake. The transition to DAB has to include measures that
will ensure that recording artists are compensated for their work.”
Daryl Friedman, Vice President, Advocacy & Government
Relations The Recording Academy: “The Recording
Academy and the music professionals it represents are excited about
DAB’s potential for high quality audio and rich content that
provides new revenue for creators. Our job is to ensure that
potential is reached. We look forward to working with the
FCC and Congress to help create a system that at last gives artists
fair compensation for their work – the recordings that are
the backbone of the radio industry.”
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Filing (Comments) available online at http://www.futureofmusic.org/images/DABreplycomments.pdf
This press release is also available online at:
http://www.futureofmusic.org/news/PRDABreplycomments.cfm
CONTACTS:
AFTRA: Ann Chaitovitz (202) 223-1235
AFM: Hal Ponder (202) 463-0772
FMC: Michael Bracy (202) 331-2958
RAC: Margaret Cone (202) 265-3988
The Recording Academy: Daryl Friedman (202) 662-1341
