Help WCLV Fight an Unfair and Potentially Debilitating Performance Tax

A Message from Robert Conrad, WCLV's President

The battle between broadcasters such as WCLV and the recording industry over royalty payments for broadcasting recorded music has moved from the House of Representatives to the Senate.

In the House, a bipartisan group of 237 House lawmakers have signed on as co-sponsors to the Local Radio Freedom Act, a resolution opposing the imposition of "any new performance fee, tax, royalty or other charge" on radio for music airplay. Many of our listeners did write to their Congressmen, and we thank you. However, the Senate Judiciary Committee held a hearing on its version of legislation to impose the performance tax.  The hearing was not necessarily favorable to the broadcasters’ position – with a number of Senators on the committee appearing sympathetic to the pleas by artists and recording companies asking to be compensated by stations.

There is a Senate version of the anti-performance tax resolution – S. Con. Res. 14.  To date, 23 Senators have signed on as co-sponsors, indicating their opposition to a performance tax.

Neither of Ohio’s Senators has signed on as a co-sponsor.  Ohio broadcasting representatives have had several conversations with staff in both Senators’ offices – while they are aware of the issue, they have not focused on it yet amidst the many other issues they are dealing with.  It would be very helpful for them to hear from listeners who may be concerned about the impact of this performance tax on a station's ability to operate and serve our communities.

For many decades, the law has recognized that record labels, artists, and local radio stations have a symbiotic relationship. Radio airplay generates billions of dollars in music sales. Artists benefit by selling CDs, concert tickets, and other merchandise. Radio stations like WCLV introduce the work of musicians working in many different genres to over 235 million people per week. The proposed Performance Tax ignores these simple facts. It would transfer massive amounts of money from WCLV and other stations to large record companies, most of which are foreign owned.

WCLV is not a part of a large broadcasting conglomerate. We are the only stand-alone independent commercial broadcaster in the Cleveland metro. WCLV, along with the other such stations in the country, has a very modest operating budget, yet would be expected to shoulder its portion of this estimated multi-million dollar royalty. In the case of WCLV, the additional financial burden would limit the station's ability to continue serving the arts and music community with such programming as our regular broadcasts of The Cleveland Orchestra, and from the Cleveland Institute of Music, Cleveland State University, Baldwin-Wallace College and Oberlin College, and such public service programming as WCLV’s weekly broadcasts of the City Club Forum.

Therefore, we ask that you write or e-mail the Ohio Senators in support of the resolution—S. Con. Res. 14. A sample letter is given below.

Thank you,

Robert Conrad

Sample Letter

Dear Senator :

Our nation is experiencing one of the worst economic downturns since the Great Depression. Businesses, especially those that are locally owned, are facing mounting challenges that can hinder success and prevent economic viability. As you and your colleagues in Washington work to pull our nation out of this economic slump, the big international record labels are pushing an initiative that has been introduced in Congress and is being considered by the Senate Judiciary Committee— an initiative that could put some of the more than 106,300 radio jobs in jeopardy and reduce diversity in station ownership. Locally, this would have a severe effect on our Cleveland classical music station, WCLV, which for nearly 50 years has served the area with fine music and community service.

Called a performance tax by some in the industry, this legislation would require local radio stations to pay a performance royalty to the record labels. Even though local radio stations already compensate composers and publishers for the use of music, provide free airtime worth billions of dollars to promote performers and their music, and pay the big record labels if they stream over the Internet, the labels want more.

While the foreign-owned record labels are looking for a bailout from local radio, in the current economic climate radio stations both big and small are already struggling to stay afloat. Even without the performance tax, radio stations both big and small have announced layoffs all across the country.  106,300 radio jobs translate to almost $7 billion in annual payroll; salaries which help inject money back into the economy. Adding another fee to an already struggling industry would ensure those numbers will plummet.

I strongly urge you to support the Senate resolution, S. Con. Res. 14.

Sincerely,

[Sample letter based on one provided by the Free Radio Alliance.]