Artists and record labels who have been agitating for parity with songwriters took a major step forward this past Wednesday when the House introduced H.R. 848 the “Performance Rights Act”. The bill would require terrestrial broadcasters to obtain a license from holders of copyright in sound recordings whenever they transmit music. The bill would also require 50% of these licensing fees to be paid directly to recording artists, regardless of the terms of their contract with record labels.
While this is a good first step, the bill leaves a lot to be desired by way of achieving parity between the treatment of terrestrial broadcasters, satellite broadcasters, and webcasters.
By way of background, until 1995 copyright law did not provide a general public performance right to owners of copyright in sound recordings i.e record labels and artists.
