Political Quotes

“Madam President, I rise to speak in support of the bipartisan American Music Fairness Act, which I have reintroduced with Senator Blackburn today. Artists pour their heart and soul into the music we enjoy. Unfortunately, our current copyright laws do not adequately reflect the value of what they have produced. Currently, the United States is the only democratic country in the world in which artists are not compensated for the use of their music on AM/FM radio. By requiring broadcast radio corporations to pay performance royalties to creators for AM/FM radio plays, the American Music Fairness Act would close an antiquated loophole in our copyright law which has prevented artists from receiving compensation for the use of their music for far too long. This royalty stream would be particularly meaningful for the thousands of working-class artists who are a critical part of our country's vibrant music industry. Additionally, when American-made music is played overseas, other countries collect royalties for American artists and producers but never pay those royalties to our artists because we do not reciprocate. This inequity costs the American economy and artists more than $200 million each year. This is a serious injustice considering that America is the origin of so much of the music listened to around the world. So it is time, once and for all, to create a regime that is platform neutral and which respects the hard work and dignity of our artists.…”