Statement Of Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.)
Chairman, Senate Judiciary Committee
Hearing on “Exploring The Scope Of Public Performance
Rights”
November 13, 2007
Like most people, I am an avid music fan. Music inspires us. Music
connects us to others and to matters larger than ourselves. Music
fills our memories. While I am grateful to broadcasters for all the
music I first heard on the radio, I also feel strongly that artists
should be compensated for their work. So the issue of “performance
rights on sound recordings” can be stated pretty simply: Should
broadcast radio continue to use musicians’ work without paying for
it?
The issue of “performance rights” raises the issue of fairness.
Although the question is simple, the answer may not be. First, is
it fair to continue to exempt broadcasters from royalty
obligations? Second, is it fair to U.S. copyright holders for the
United States not to align its practices with all the other OECD
countries, which recognize a performance right? Third, is it fair
for some kinds of “radio” equivalents to pay royalties to performers
but for traditional broadcast radio stations to continue to be
exempt from such obligations? Webcasting and satellite radio pay
performers for their work, but broadcast radio, which generates
advertising revenue by playing the same music, does not. Fourth, is
it fair to require the same payment from small, noncommercial, or
religious radio stations as those broadcasters that own many
stations and generate large profits? And finally, is it fair to
impose public service requirements on broadcast radio but not to
make those demands of others?
I want to be sure that our culture remains vital and vibrant. Radio
has been part of that vibrancy, whether it is “old fashioned”
broadcast radio or new-fangled Internet radio. I want it not only
to survive, but to prosper. I want my grandchildren to have the
widest possible access to good music, including classics or new
creations. But I also want to be sure that the creative artists,
those who perform that music, get their due. When we turn on the
radio, I want to know that the voices I hear belong to artists who
are being treated fairly.
I thank our witnesses today, especially because they arranged to be
here on such short notice and with very busy schedules.
# # # # #
