The Performance Rights Act is a bill before the US Congress that would require commercial radio stations in the US to pay a royalty to the musicians that perform on the songs that the stations play. Currently, only satellite, internet and cable radio stations have to pay these royalties in the US. The US is one of the only countries in the world that has radio stations that do not pay these fees. Because US stations do not pay these fees, many other countries refuse to pay royalties to US artists they play on their stations.
The Performance Rights Act proposes an annual licensing fee to be paid by radio stations rather than a fee negotiated with individual copyright holders. The fee would be reduced to $1,000 per year for noncommercial and college radio and would not apply at all to talk radio or religious broadcasts. It is estimated that most stations would pay a maximum blanket license fee of $5,000 per year.
