Performance Royalties: Can Artists and Radio Get Along? Is that the right debate?

Well I have to take my hat off to Reverend Jesse Jackson and the Rainbow Push Coalition. The Annual Symposium in Washington, DC on November 19, 2009 was a surprising event.
Admittedly, I was skeptical about the event. I did not hear or read about the symposium until the last minute (and that's another story) while I was discussing media ownership with some students. For some reason, I was determined to make this event. Although I expected to see the usual suspects in attendance building their own brands and and supplying the masses with great rhetorical exchanges void of any tangible solution. I've come to believe like so many others that no one (the so called leaders) really care about "the people" in the way that the leaders use to do in 60's.

As I enjoyed the free breakfast at the Rainbow Push Symposium. I heard for the first time Representative John Conyers. Regardless of my position on the Performance Rights Acts, I gave my full attention to this "Warrior" of the cause for African American people. He deserves that respect and more. Representative Conyers did not go into a whole lot of this and that about the Performance Rights Act. He asked that you merely go to his website and read the information and talk to him about it later. Man I thought that is the least that I could do, no problem. He wants not to debate but find a solution.

What struck me the most about Representative Conyers was the candor in which he told the audience that they (meaning the republicans and the republican backed conservative media) are going to throw everything at President Obama in 2012. And I sat there thinking, Why in the hell are we arguing about the Performance Right Act? Whether or not the act becomes a law African Americans are losing stations and ownership at an alarming rate and there will not be a bailout. And only a few drums left in the community. TAMA Broadcasting with its 11 stations and two newspapers is now in receivership. The drum that radio once was in the African American community is slowly being silenced or bought by outside interests who can afford the price that is out of range for another African American. Who's going to lend or invest in a Black man and a media venture during this economic downturn? Newt and his gang took care of the incentive in 1995 with the repeal of the Tax Certificate policy And we are arguing about whether or not the artists should be paid for airplay on radio?

I said at the beginning of the Performance Rights debate that this is a diversion something else is happening. In my rants to people on the hill most said that another wave of consolidation is coming and lobbyists are pushing for further relaxation of the ownership rules where a corporation can own up to 12 stations in a single market. And with African American corporations losing heavily in this economic downturn, it's no wonder why lobbyists are asking for more relaxation of the ownership limits. The corporations want to gobble up the remaining African American companies that are failing. No, No, No, we gotta fight the power ! Corporations have messed up radio. Messed it up, Messed it up and Messed it up through their greed. Not just one of them, all of the radio corporations have ruined radio. They program through one silly game called "monkey see monkey do." And corporations cannot adequately supply the community with their need through this one size fits all method of programming. The corporations have robbed locals communities with their programming.

At the end of the presentations, I went to directly to Representative Conyers and said to him "I know you voted against the 1996 Telecommunications Act can this Performance Rights Act debate be spun in to a "Media Ownership" issue? Too few own Too many and they want more. I think we should put some focus on the media ownership issues. He looked at me then instructed one of his assistants to take my information. I will meet with him in the coming weeks. I am sympathetic about the PRA but media ownership in the community is something that we all need to stand up and fight for right away. Why is it that a certain group has to own everything all the time? When I think about not being able to hear the African American perspective on an African American channel or run totally by African Americans. And African American getting their news and information from sources other than themselves, I question whether that is a forward move. It looks to me like stepping backwards to a time when African Americans did not own any radio stations. Why aren't African Americans yelling about media ownership? Oh well. I guess that's my calling.