Fight the Bill; Not Congressman John Conyers

Harry C. Alford NNPA Columnist

By Harry C. Alford NNPA Columnist There is something going on right now that is plain “rot gut ugly.” I have never seen such a malicious attack on such a prestigious elected official. Radio magnate Cathy Hughes and others are attacking the Honorable John Conyers in a very scandalous way. There is one ad that just maligns him in a vicious way and includes his family in the verbal attack. What has caused Ms. Hughes to lead this attack? It is a Bill that Congressman John Conyers has introduced in the House of Representatives. Let’s talk about the Bill. The bill number is HR 848 and is also referred to as the Performance Rights Act. Presently, radio stations pay a royalty for playing records to the writer of the song. This bill would also make them pay whoever is singing the song also. Radio stations doing less than $1.25 million per year will be assessed a flat annual fee. In a time of financial difficulty this may be the tilting point for struggling radio stations. This added cost may end Black radio as we know it and that would be a tragedy. Besides Congressman Conyers there are, as of July 30, 2009, eight other democratic Congressional Black Caucus members sponsoring the Bill. The Congresspersons are Yvette D. Clarke (NY), Emanuel Cleaver (MO), Marcia L. Fudge (OH), Sheila Jackson-Lee (TX), Henry C. “Hank” Johnson (GA), Bennie G. Thompson (MS), Edolphus Towns (NY) and Diane E. Watson (CA). Eddie Bernice Johnson (TX) and Eleanor Holmes Norton (DC) were sponsors, but when the mess hit the fan they withdrew their sponsorships on May 14 and June 11, respectively. In total there are 45 congressional sponsors – 41 Democrats and 4 Republicans. In the attack ads, Ms. Hughes calls out Congressmen Bobby Scott (VA) and Mel Watt (NC) but I find no evidence of them sponsoring this Bill. Why is this happening? The world economy is in a state of uneasiness. The entertainment industry is no exception. Both the broadcasters and the music companies are losing revenues like never before. They are trying to find ways to change the course and here the music companies have come up with a new way to create revenue for their artists. They want to strip revenue from the broadcasters as they do their daily business. By doing so, many fledgling and even some big stations are going to be hurt and more Black owned radio stations are going to go out of business. The music industry has done its homework. They have convinced the Chair of the House Judiciary Committee, John Conyers, to introduce this Bill. They have also convinced Chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee, Senator Patrick Leahy (D, VT) to introduce a similar Bill, S.379. But Ms. Hughes has not approached him or his sponsors. She also has not addressed her anger to the other congresspersons sponsoring Congressman Conyers’ Bill. In essence, the exchange has been “Black on Black” and that is a sad state of affairs. The National Black Chamber of Commerce, Inc. has avoided coming out with a position on this matter until we have thoroughly interviewed our friends and members who are in both the broadcasting and music side of the business. The verbal attacks have been vile and we see a lot of destructive activity going on and that needs to come to an end. Thus, we will hereby state a position and fight to win. Here it is: Radio stations have made music what it is today. The success of many records depended on adequate playing by the station owners. Yes, radio has made many successful music companies what they are today. Why are the music owners coming back on them for a fee or tax? “Pay to Play” is bad business if not a crime and what this Bill proposes is in effect a license to steal from the radio companies. It is a form of “reverse payola.” Thus, the NBCC agrees with Ms. Hughes' position. We agree with her position, but cannot align with her tactics or disrespectful verbiage to our elected officials.

Let’s rise and defeat these two Bills, HR 848 and S.379. They will kill many of our radio stations and the local economies they support. We should work with our radio stations and communicate to Capitol Hill that this must not happen.

As we do this, we must leave the legend of the 45 continuous years of service to the citizens of Detroit and for the rest of the nation that John Conyers has invested intact. He is a Giant and we must give him and the others their due respect and encourage their leadership. We don’t have to agree on everything and this is one of those occasions. We will win and still be friends with our honorable opponents. Harry Alford is the co-founder, President/CEO of the National Black Chamber of Commerce, Inc. Website: www. -national-bcc.org. Email: halford@nation-albcc.org
Story posted: 8/8/2009

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