Singers vocalize radio woe -- 'Money (That's What I Want),' lawmakers hear

Jack Ely, the singer whose 1963 version of "Louie Louie" stillmakes the rounds on oldies radio, lives with his wife in a mobilehome on a horse ranch in Oregon. Ely says they share $30,000 a yearfrom her teacher's pension and his Social Security checks. They arepaying down a mortgage.

So sometimes it bothers Ely, 65, when he hears his voice singing"Louie Louie" on the radio or in sports arenas, knowing he's notgetting paid.

"It gets played twice a day by every oldies radio stationeverywhere in the world. And I get nothing," said Ely, who recordedthe song with The Kingsmen before getting drafted by the Army andleaving the band. "I got one check for $5,000. That's all I ever sawfrom the sale of 'Louie Louie.'"

Since the advent of radio in the 1920s, songwriters have made alittle money every time their tunes are played on stations in mostindustrialized countries. The six children of "Louie Louie"songwriter Richard Berry today share more than $100,000 in royaltiesevery year.

But performers like Ely don't get a dime.

A bill moving through Congress aims to change that. It would letperformers and the recording labels get a share of the ad revenuethat radio stations collect from playing their songs. This pool ofroyalties could be hundreds of millions a year - which would becrucial for the record industry, as compact disc sales plummet anddigital song sales aren't making up the difference.

It could also unlock an estimated $70 million to $100 million peryear that is collected by radio stations abroad for U.S. artists,but never paid out because U.S. stations don't pay foreign artistsin return. France, for example, takes the U.S. artists' portion andputs it into French cultural funds.

There have been more than half a dozen attempts since the 1970sto enact a performers' royalty on Capitol Hill. All have faltered toa powerful radio station lobby headed by the National Association ofBroadcasters.

The association says performers and record labels are alreadycompensated - they sell songs and concert tickets because of theradio airplay they get. The NAB says the long history of recordlabels paying disc jockeys for extra rotations helps prove thepoint.

This time, however, the music industry thinks it can win. In thelast two decades, recording companies have secured royalties fromother formats: Internet radio, satellite radio and music channels oncable TV services. Mitch Bainwol, the chairman of the RecordingIndustry Association of America, says he's prepared for a"multiyear" fight.

The bill has the support of the Judiciary Committee chairman,Rep. John Con- yers, D-Mich., and is set for final revisions thismonth before possibly being sent to the House floor for debate.

Radio stations say the renewed push couldn't have come at a worsetime.

The recession has pushed ad revenue at radio stations down bydouble-digit percentages from a year ago, and thousands of jobs havebeen lost.

It's unclear how much radio airplay entices listeners to buymusic. But if the "payola" scandals from the 1950s to this decadeare any indication, major recording labels have long valued radioairplay, and sometimes paid cash for it.

Some regulators have considered such payments bribes, and thefederal government in the 1960s forced radio stations to disclosewhen they are paid for song play.

However, economists disagree on the promotional benefit of musicon the radio.

--------------------

Who gets what?

The bill passing through Congress would prevent songwriting andpublishing royalties from being reduced to make room for the newfees.

On a given song, half the new fee would go to the copyrightholder of the master recording, typically the record label; 45percent would go to featured performers; and 5 percent would go tobackground performers and backup singers.

--------------------