On one side, we have an entrenched and powerful industry, ominously suggesting that this new legislation will eliminate services, wreak hardship on the land, maybe even put folks out of business. On the other side, we find advocates for change arguing for a measure they view as lifesaving. And they’re damning the old guard for using scare tactics, brute muscle and misuse of the public trust to unfairly defend the status quo. . .
…The [Public Performance Right] bills under consideration in the House and Senate stipulate that the estimated 75 percent of U.S. stations that gross less than $1.25 million annually would pay “no more than $5,000 in performance royalties, and in many cases it would be a lot less than that,” says Casey Rae-Hunter, another advocate who works with the Future of Music Coalition. read more