Oh, this is interesting. The musicFIRST Coalition, a US body which is active in that previously reported campaign in the US to force radio stations to pay royalties to record labels and artists for the music they play, in the same way they do here in Europe, has accused some radio stations of blacklisting artists who have spoken out in favour of the proposed new royalty payment rules.
American terrestrial radio stations have always enjoyed preferential treatment in the royalties game, based on that old chestnut of an argument that the radio sector helps record companies and recording artists sell their music by promoting new releases to their listeners.
But with royalties from broadcasters and their like an increasingly important revenue stream for record companies around the world, and with online music service providers, who don't enjoy favourable royalty treatment under US copyright law, objecting that their terrestrial broadcasting rivals have an unfair advantage, moves are afoot to force US radio companies to start paying recording royalties - and the whole issue has been working its way through the US political system for sometime.
Needless to say the terrestrial radio companies aren't that keen on suddenly being presented with a brand new royalty bill to pay each month, and are busying lobbying against any change in the law. And, if musicFIRST are to be believed, that lobbying effort includes playing dirty and blacklisting artists who publicly speak out against the radio sector and in favour of a new radio royalty system.
The musicians body has asked the US media regulator, the Federal Communications Commission, to investigate allegations of artist blacklisting, and also to review an ad made by the National Association Of Broadcasters on the issue, being broadcast by some radio stations, which music types believe is misleading.
musicFIRST Executive Director, Jennifer Bendall, told reporters: "For more than 80 years radio stations have been using the work of artists and musicians without compensating them, now they're using the public airwaves unfairly for their own self interest".