Just last week was reading how the bill was a sure thing, but evidently the AM Radio in Every Vehicle Act got put on the backburner over copyright issues...
AM Law Requiring AM Radio in Every Vehicle Gets Tossed From Federal Funding Bill
"The AM bill is directly connected to AMFA because AM radio plays over 240 million songs a year without paying artists a royalty. The musicFirst Coalition says passing the AM bill without AMFA would have given Congress’ seal of approval to a broken system that has denied artists royalties since the beginning of radio.. ..The musicFirst Coalition estimates radio companies raked in more than $15 billion in ad revenue despite not paying artists a dime for their music. AM/FM radio remains the only music delivery platform that legally plays music for listening without compensating artists."
Hard to believe. In Canada stations have to pay music license fees, so I understand. Artisan would know more about this.
So a music station in the USA doesn't pay anything for playing music?!!
Well, leaving AM out of cars will be the lid on the coffin for AM and they won't put AM in cars here either soon.
They say you can pay for an app and data and get the AM stations via streaming. I wonder if in the USA does a station streaming have to pay music licenses?
What about satellite radio?
But I heard that a part 15 station has to pay fees for music in the USA? For BMI?
But a commercial station no? Where's the logic there?
Kind of ironic that the AM bill is being held up over music copyright issues.. Aren't most AM stations talk nowadays?
@mark Radio stations have to pay the artist who wrote it, but not the the artist who performs the song.
@mark - Part 15 stations in the US don't have to pay copyright. One of the major outfits that collects fees from stations who play music does allow Part 15 stations to pay an annual fee (I forget which one). It only happened after a number of Part 15 operators, who were so keen to be considered "legitimate" bugged them to do so. The other companies haven't followed suit.
No-one is going after Part 15 stations for not paying these fees. Some Part 15'ers would like to think they are significant enough to warrant paying, but we aren't! Part 15 stations exist outside of the formal regulatory system. As long as we conform to the relevant Part 15 rules, the FCC don't want to hear about us or from us. I think the organizations such as ASCAP/BMI etc. feel the same way. We aren't a significant enough potential source of income, so they don't care. I for one like it that way!
More on the story, where this guy makes an interesting point on who profits
Congress poised to help AM Radio while ignoring Payments to Performers
“Moreover, the relationship between the AM Radio in Every Vehicle Act and the American Music Fairness Act may be more than just bad optics for Congress.” “After all, regardless of any other rationale to keep AM humming, this bill is a gift to iHeart, Cumulus and the nation’s other corporate radio broadcasters,” says Newhoff.