The Black Caucus Vs. Radio One 101

If you live in a large urban metropolitan area you’ve no doubt heard Radio One’s Cathy Hughes blasting members of the Congressional Black Caucus. This is no honest disagreement among friends. Cathy Hughes has made it an all out war leaving collateral damage in her wake. So what’s the beef about? You guessed it: money.

A little background:

Under current law, radio stations are only required to pay copyright royalties to artists who compose songs – not those who perform them. However, other media, such as satellite and radio over the Internet, are required to pay royalties to performers.

In February 2009, House Judiciary Committee Chairman John Conyers (D-MI) introduced H.R. 848, the Performance Rights Act, which seeks to provide parity by requiring radio stations to pay performers just as satellite and Internet radio must. It is Cathy Hughes’ contention that this will forever cripple black radio stations.

In this corner…

Congressman Conyers (D-MI), dean of the Congressional Black Caucus, is allied with a bipartisan group of lawmakers and fellow CBC members. Stakeholders supporting H.R. 848 include the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) and the League of United Latin American Citizens (LULAC) along with countless performers such as Dionne Warwick (see scathing Warwick rebuke here).

In the other corner…

Cathy Hughes, CEO of Radio One, the nation’s largest black-owned broadcast company, has the support of the Reverend Jesse Jackson, Jr. and the Reverend Al Sharpton. This is in addition to Hughes followers such as popular syndicated hosts Tom Joyner, Michael Baisden, Warren Ballentine, and Yolanda Adams as well as hundreds of radio stations.

Hughes’ fundamental opposition to H.R. 848 is that it will unfairly and disproportionally cripple black-owned radio stations. Quoted recently on Afro.com, Hughes believes H.R. 848 “could put many Black owned radio stations out of business and force others to abandon their commitment to provide free music, entertainment, news, information, and money losing formats.”

Conyers, recognizing the unintended effects of the bill, modified the language to create a sliding payment scale to accommodate minority-owned broadcasters. In a statement, Conyers noted the amended bill would:

…create a sliding scale where small stations will pay as little as $500 a year for the unlimited use of all music and other copyrighted sound recordings. Industry data shows that three-quarters of America’s radio stations will be eligible for the scale, and 90% of African American-owned stations will be protected. Eligibility is determined by a station’s gross annual revenues, and all music radio stations that gross less than $1.25 million per year will be eligible for an flat annual fee.

The Conyers bill also pushes implementation and collection of royalties out for one to three years depending on the size and how much money the stations gross.

While the CBC vs. Radio One spat has taken center stage, they are but one small battle in a much larger war between performers and broadcasters. But you don’t see the head of Clear Channel talking about Senator Leahy’s wife (D-RI).

Bottom line:

Let’s hope this gets resolved soon.   The spectacle makes us all look bad.  Otherwise, we’ll all come out on the losing end.

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