Performance Rights Legislation

Send a letter to the following decision maker(s):
Your Congressperson
Your Senators

Below is the sample letter:

Subject: Performance Rights Act

Dear [decision maker name automatically inserted here],

I am writing to ask you to co-sponsor the Performance Rights Act, H.R. 4789, S. 2500, a bill to grant a long-overdue performance right to performers when their music is played on the radio. I am a member of the American Federation of Musicians, a nationwide organization of over 90,000 professional musicians who will benefit from this legislation.

Performers create the music which terrestrial AM/FM radio needs to lure its advertisers. But AM/FM radio refuses to pay a cent to those performers. It's time to correct this inequity.

Over-the-air AM/FM radio is still the dominant music platform in spite of the introduction of satellite, internet, and cable radio in recent years. But over-the-air radio gets an unfair advantage over its competitors because the other music platforms pay a royalty to performers. It's time to level the playing field.

Performers lose out twice. They are not paid when their music is played on U.S. radio and they are not paid when their music is played overseas. Royalties are collected abroad for U.S. performers (because almost every other country in the world has a performance right), but these royalties are not given to U.S. performers because we do not have a reciprocal law.

I hope you will co-sponsor the Performance Rights Act, which will bring our law up to par with all the other developed nations. It is finally time to recognize and appropriately compensate those who make our country's music - and broadcasting - industry the most vibrant in the world. Thank you.

Sincerely,

<your name>