NAACP Opposing Internet Radio Fairness Act

The NAACP is opposing the proposed Internet Radio Fairness Act, which would adjust digital royalty rates, lowering the amount paid by online broadcasters including services such as both Pandora and iHeartRadio. The NAACP has sent a letter to the leaders of the House Subcommittee on Intellectual Property, Competition and the Internet, speaking out strongly against the proposal. In the letter, NAACP Washington Bureau Director and SVP of Advocacy and Policy Hilary Shelton writes that the legislation "fails the basic test of economic fairness and discriminates against singers and musicians by slashing the compensation they receive when their work is played over digital online radio." He says the Internet Radio Fairness Act would "unfairly deprive artists and performers of fair pay for their hard work. This would start a race to the bottom in performer's compensation, violating the founding principle of America's labor movement. A fair day's work deserves a fair day's pay." Shelton adds, "Many of the performers who would be affected by this lower compensation rate are the now elderly singers and musicians from the Motown era who received little pay for their original work and are dependent on this modest performance royalty that would be eviscerated under IFRA." The Internet Radio Fairness Act proposes to put Internet radio stations on the same standard used to set the royalty fees paid by cable and satellite radio stations like SiriusXM. Pandora believes the bill would lower the royalty fees it pays to compensate artists for streaming songs on its service, and also encourage new Internet radio services to enter the market. The IFRA has uniquely united Pandora and terrestrial broadcasters in a rare show of agreement. Pandora and Clear Channel Media and Entertainment are both part of a coalition with the Computer and Communications Industry Association, the Consumer Electronics Association and others to lobby in favor of the legislation. However, the NAACP is not alone in opposing the IFRA. The bill is also opposed by the AFL-CIO and the musicFIRST Coalition, an organization that represents recording artists, musicians and minority organizations that advocate for performance rights.