SoundExchange Applauds Fair Play Fair Pay Act Announcement

WASHINGTON, April 13, 2015 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- In response to today's press conference in New York City, announcing the Fair Play Fair Pay Act by Representatives Jerry Nadler (D-NY) and Marsha Blackburn (R-TN), SoundExchange issued the following statement from Michael Huppe, president and chief executive officer:

"For decades, music services have gotten away with building their business on the backs of hard working musicians, paying unfair rates -- and in the case of the $17.5 billion radio industry, paying nothing at all -- for the music they use. The Fair Play Fair Pay Act introduced today will bring much needed reform to the music industry and addresses many of the issues that plague the recorded music industry.

"It is time that we properly pay the artists who put so much hard work into creating the music at the core of these services. If it weren't for them, these stations would be broadcasting little more than static.

"At the nexus of music and technology, SoundExchange is at the very center of the industry, representing the entire record music industry. In June 2014, we testified before Congress and laid out SoundExchange's guiding principle: all creators should receive fair pay, on all platforms and technologies, whenever their music is used. This past February, the Copyright Office put out a comprehensive report that laid out a similar principle and today we have a bipartisan coalition in Congress heeding the same call."

Celebrate the Introduction of the Fair Play Fair Pay Act
Attention artists, labels and music fans: Tweet us with your thoughts @SoundExchange using #FairPlayFairPay.

About SoundExchange
SoundExchange is the non-profit performance rights organization representing the entire recorded music industry. The organization collects statutory royalties on behalf of over 100,000 recording artists and master rights owners for the use of their content from satellite radio, Internet radio, cable and satellite TV music channels and other services that stream sound recordings. The Copyright Royalty Board, created by Congress, has entrusted SoundExchange as the only entity in the United States to collect and distribute these digital performance royalties from more than 2,500 services. SoundExchange has paid out more than $2 billion in royalties since its inception. For more information, visit www.SoundExchange.com or www.facebook.com/soundexchange.

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SOURCE SoundExchange

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