Remember the Local Radio Freedom Act from last year?  Well, they’re back with a new LRFA (pronounced “screw you”).  This Congress can’t agree about much, but they can agree they want to keep screwing artists.

Here’s the deal.  LRFA is the Alinsky-style straw man–demonize your opponent as something you want people to believe your opponent to be (a “tax” for example), then perpetuate that mischaracterization no matter what.  (In the current parlance, something pretty close to gaslighting fake news.)

This LRFA legacy “nonbinding resolution” has become an evergreen in the arsenal of the NAB’s gaslighting efforts to perpetuate exploitation of recording artists for one reason and one reason only–because they can.  The NAB gets a bunch of Members to sign up, doesn’t tell them the truth about what they signed, and hope that nobody tells them otherwise until it’s too late.

Here’s a list of signatories at the end of this post in case you want to tell them #irespectmusic, why don’t you?  Sign the petition at I Respect Music.org

More on this to come, but the headline is that Big Radio is back with a new LRFA, H.Con.Res. 20 in the House and S.Con.Res.5.

CONCURRENT RESOLUTION

Supporting the Local Radio Freedom Act.

Whereas the United States enjoys broadcasting and sound recording industries that are the envy of the world, due to the symbiotic relationship that has existed among these industries for many decades;

Whereas for nearly a century, Congress has rejected repeated calls by the recording industry to impose a performance fee on local radio stations for simply playing music on the radio and upsetting the mutually beneficial relationship between local radio and the recording industry;

Whereas local radio stations provide free publicity and promotion to the recording industry and performers of music in the form of radio air play, interviews with performers, introduction of new performers, concert promotions, and publicity that promotes the sale of music, concert tickets, ring tones, music videos and associated merchandise;

Whereas Congress found that “the sale of many sound recordings and the careers of many performers benefited considerably from airplay and other promotional activities provided by both noncommercial and advertiser-supported, free over-the-air broadcasting”;

Whereas local radio broadcasters provide tens of thousands of hours of essential local news and weather information during times of national emergencies and natural disasters, as well as public affairs programming, sports, and hundreds of millions of dollars of time for public service announcements and local fund raising efforts for worthy charitable causes, all of which are jeopardized if local radio stations are forced to divert revenues to pay for a new performance fee;

Whereas there are many thousands of local radio stations that will suffer severe economic hardship if any new performance fee is imposed, as will many other small businesses that play music including bars, restaurants, retail establishments, sports and other entertainment venues, shopping centers and transportation facilities; and

Whereas the hardship that would result from a new performance fee would hurt American businesses, and ultimately the American consumers who rely on local radio for news, weather, and entertainment; and such a performance fee is not justified when the current system has produced the most prolific and innovative broadcasting, music, and sound recording industries in the world: Now, therefore, be it

Resolved by the House of Representatives (the Senate concurring), That Congress should not impose any new performance fee, tax, royalty, or other charge relating to the public performance of sound recordings on a local radio station for broadcasting sound recordings over-the-air, or on any business for such public performance of sound recordings.

Here’s the list of Members of Congress who want to keep screwing artists:

Ms. Castor of Florida (for herself, Mr. Conaway, Mr. Butterfield, Mr. Johnson of Ohio, Mr. Gianforte, Mr. McEachin, Mr. LaMalfa, Mr. Rogers of Kentucky, Mr. Gosar, Mr. Weber of Texas, Mr. Graves of Georgia, Mrs. Dingell, Mr. Moulton, Mr. Babin, Mr. Young, Mr. Comer, Mr. Jordan, Mr. Bost, Mr. Kelly of Pennsylvania, Mr. Cole, Mr. Keating, Mr. Flores, Mr. Hagedorn, Mr. Crawford, Mr. Palazzo, Mr. O’Halleran, Ms. McCollum, Mr. Ryan, Mr. Kinzinger, Mr. Collins of New York, Ms. Stefanik, Mr. Turner, Mr. Olson, Mr. Allen, Mr. Chabot, Mr. Massie, Mr. Hill of Arkansas, Mr. Westerman, Mr. Upton, Mr. Duncan, Mr. Walker, Mr. Rodney Davis of Illinois, Mr. Rush, Mr. Kilmer, Mr. Walberg, Mr. Gonzalez of Texas, Mr. Kind, Mr. Lynch, Mr. LaHood, Mr. Grothman, Mr. Wilson of South Carolina, Mr. Latta, Mr. Williams, Mr. Budd, Ms. Kuster of New Hampshire, Mr. Long, Mr. Bilirakis, Mr. Arrington, Mr. Hice of Georgia, Mr. Shimkus, Mr. Zeldin, Mr. Meadows, Mr. Mullin, Mr. Emmer, Mr. Lawson of Florida, Mr. Pallone, Mr. Clay, Mr. Posey, Mr. Newhouse, Mr. Womack, Mr. Walden, Mr. Hastings, Mr. David Scott of Georgia, Mr. Harris, Mr. McKinley, Mr. Rouzer, Mr. Nunes, Mr. Lamborn, Mr. Calvert, Mr. Rogers of Alabama, Mr. McHenry, Mr. Marshall, Mr. Buchanan, Mr. Davidson of Ohio, Mr. DeFazio, Mr. Mooney of West Virginia, Mr. Loebsack, Mr. Carter of Georgia, Mr. Cuellar, Mr. Duffy, Mrs. Brooks of Indiana, Ms. Foxx of North Carolina, Mrs. Kirkpatrick, Mr. Brown of Maryland, Mr. Gibbs, Mr. Wenstrup, Mr. Brendan F. Boyle of Pennsylvania, Mrs. Rodgers of Washington, Mr. Simpson, Mr. Dunn, Mr. Cook, Mr. Mitchell, Mr. Stivers, Miss González-Colón of Puerto Rico, Mrs. Beatty, Mr. Evans, Mr. Brooks of Alabama, Mr. Fortenberry, Mr. Payne, Mr. Luetkemeyer, Mr. Yarmuth, Mr. Courtney, Mrs. Radewagen, Mrs. Bustos, Mr. Banks, Mr. Gallagher, Mr. Smith of Nebraska, Mr. Kelly of Mississippi, and Mrs. Wagner)

And here’s the list of Senators:

Mr. Barrasso (for himself, Mr. Heinrich, Mr. Boozman, Ms. Collins, and Mr. Udall).