BY DANIEL MCSWAIN
Rep. Howard Berman (D-CA) has officially announced that he will introduce legislation next month that would force broadcasters to pay a royalty to copyright owners when their material is played over the radio.

The legislation, which broadcasters are calling a "performance tax," would reverse the broadcast industry's decades-old exemption from such a royalty.

During his keynote address at the NAB Radio Show in Charlotte, NAB President/CEO David Rehr pledged that the broadcast group would vehemently oppose the legislation.

"The big record labels are spinning the same old tune to Congress — asking them to impose a tax on radio to line the pockets of international record executives," said Rehr (pictured below). "We can't and won't let that happen."

In his statement, Rep. Berman attempted to preempt concerns over the impact of a new royalty on different types of businesses, assuring broadcasters that he intends "to ensure that small and religious stations — and, indeed, all stations — will not be unduly burdened and that any new payment requirement will not be excessive."

Berman, Chairman of the House Judiciary Subcommittee on Intellectual Property, the Courts and the Internet, presided over a hearing in July that first introduced the issue on a Congressional level [RAIN coverage here].

Panelists at the recent Future of Music Policy Summit in Washington D.C. devoted substantial time to the issue of performance rights [RAIN coverage here]. Gigi Sohn, Presdient of Public Knowledge, argued that proponents of the legislation "think the time is absolutely now to push for a performance right," which she attributed to a full plate of issues being faced by the NAB, as well as what Sohn called "a leadership [at the NAB] that is not as respected as it used to be."

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From Radio Ink: "'Absent a turnaround in local spot revenue, the radio industry's revenue woes will likely persist,' says SNL Kagan's new 'Media Trends 2007' report on the media industry. The study predicts that, although radio will benefit from political spending over the next year, the industry must get aggressive about the digital arena if it is going to thrive...

"After citing radio's regular double-digit revenue gains during the '70s and '80s, the report continues, 'The Internet could be a watershed for radio, and double-digit growth might be a thing of the past absent an aggressive push into the digital space.'

"The report goes on to note that radio's share of U.S. ad billing has dipped from 9.3% to 8.1% while the Internet's share has risen from 4% to 5.9%."

This entire Radio Ink article is here.

From a Sonicbids press release: "Sonicbids, the leading online submission platform for indie bands and musicians, is proud to announce that Lee Zapis, co-founder of Zapis Communications and President of Cleveland-based Zapis Capital Group, has joined the company's Board of Directors.

"Mr. Zapis' role with Sonicbids will be in an advisory capacity, helping to infuse new ideas into company with regards to working with radio and communications companies while helping to fast-track the company's growth using his knowledge of media and interactive services.

"While in the broadcast industry, Mr. Zapis [pictured] was president of Zapis Communications, a closely held corporation that owned and operated radio stations in Cleveland, Akron and Youngstown, Ohio, as well as Atlanta and Boston...

"Mr. Zapis is also a member of the board of the Orthodox Christian Network, a national radio ministry and the advisory board of the Nashville Songwriters Foundation, which honors and preserves the songwriting legacy of the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame."

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