This past Tuesday (3/4), Senators John Barrasso (R-WY) and Maggie Hassan (D-NH) reintroduced the Local Radio Freedom Act (LRFA), a resolution opposing "any new performance fee, tax, royalty or other charge" on local radio stations. Twenty bipartisan senators have already cosponsored the resolution, signaling strong support for local radio stations in the new Congress.

“For over a century, local radio stations have provided communities with trusted news, critical emergency information and the music and entertainment audiences rely on every day, free of charge,” said NAB President and CEO Curtis LeGeyt. “NAB thanks Sens. Barrasso and Hassan, and the over 145 members of the House and Senate who have already signed onto this resolution for recognizing the vital role of local radio across the country. Their support will help ensure that local radio stations can continue serving our communities for years to come.”

“People across Wyoming depend on local radio stations for timely information, news, and programming that impact their daily lives,” said Senator Barrasso. “For decades, radio stations and the recording industry have enjoyed a mutually beneficial relationship: free airplay for free promotion. If forced to pay a performance royalty, broadcasters will have to make cuts to important programming to make ends meet. I’m proud to join Senator Hassan in introducing our bipartisan resolution to block any new performance tax on broadcasters in Wyoming and across the country.”

The Local Radio Freedom Act was introduced in the U.S. House of Representatives at the beginning of February by Reps. Steve Womack (R-AR-3) and Kathy Castor (D-FL-14), and the resolution currently has over 125 bipartisan cosponsors in the House. Similar resolutions were introduced in previous Congresses and garnered widespread, bipartisan support, including more than 250 bipartisan members of the House of Representatives and Senate in the last Congress.

A few weeks ago, Republican Senators Marsha Blackburn of Tennessee and Thom Tillis of North Carolina, and Democratic Senators Alex Padilla of California and Cory Booker of New Jersey, reintroduced the American Music Fairness Act. In the House it was reintroduced by Republican Rep. Darrell Issa of California and Democratic Rep. Jerry Nadler of New York.

As broadcast attorney David Oxenford explains in a recent blog post, the latter legislation would impose a new music royalty on over-the-air radio stations. The royalty would be payable to SoundExchange for distribution to performing artists and record labels for the use of their recording of a song. This would be in addition to payments already made by radio to composers and publishing companies through ASCAP, BMI, SESAC and GMR for performance of musical compositions.