Radio execs, artists face off over royalties
Radio execs hear passionate pleas from musicians at town hall meeting
Susan Whitall / The Detroit News
'Money, that's what I want," Motown's Barrett Strong sang back in 1959, and that's what dozens of singers and musicians want from broadcast radio, they told a town forum hosted Tuesday by U.S. Rep. John Conyers at Wayne State University's Spencer Partrich Law Auditorium.
Dionne Warwick, Sam Moore and hip-hop artist Rhymefest were among the artists on the panel discussing the controversial Performance Rights Act sponsored by Conyers (and already passed by the Judiciary Committee), which would amend U.S. copyright law and compel broadcast radio to pay performers. Radio executives have come out strongly against the bill, arguing that it would force radio stations to close.
This being Detroit, many of the musicians attending were Motown alumni, including Mary Wilson of the Supremes and Detroit Councilwoman Martha Reeves.
Motown alums and family members also were sprinkled throughout the audience, including Rosalind Holmes and Annette Helton of the Vandellas; Annie Jamerson, widow of Motown bassist James Jamerson; Doris Van Dyke, widow of Motown bandleader Earl Van Dyke; and arrangers Paul Riser and Johnny Allen.
Joining Conyers at the top of the panel were his House Judiciary Committee colleagues, Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee of Texas and Rep. Hank Jackson of Georgia. The Rev. Al Sharpton was the only panelist representing radio.
Conyers spoke of wanting to bring both sides together.
"Music and culture is the other part of what makes you a human being," Conyers said. "I never met anyone who didn't believe that artists and performers shouldn't be compensated. Have you? This is what we're struggling with. We're here to determine how we move past this."
It didn't appear the radio contingent was buying it.
Sitting stony-faced at a table facing the panel were representatives of Detroit's radio community, including Kathy Stinehour, vice president and general manager of Radio One Detroit; John Gallagher, general manager of Greater Media; Debbie Kenyon, market manager of CBS Radio Detroit; and Mildred Gaddis, morning host for Radio One's WCHB-AM. None were invited to be on the panel, although both Conyers aides and Radio One confirmed that Radio One CEO Cathy Hughes was invited to be on the panel but declined.
"Because Congressman Conyers had already pushed the bill out of committee, Hughes felt this would not be a legitimate hearing, but it was going to be a local Detroit town hall meeting, which in her view was going to be very self-serving, and it's turned out she was correct," said Radio One's Stinehour after the meeting.
"I don't know anyone who is opposed to the compensation that has been due artists historically," Sharpton said. "I'd first talk about how we repair the damage done to artists. And I would not repair the damage by giving the money that they were robbed to the thief that robbed them."
Mary Wilson of the Supremes refuted him when it was her turn to speak. "The record companies, that's a whole 'nother issue," said Wilson. "Whatever we signed for, the record companies paid us, or we took them to court, and it's done. Radio is using those records, selling ads, and radio is paid. If our music was not on there, they would not be paid."
The rest of the panel of musicians and representatives from the Rhythm and Blues Foundation spoke of performers who couldn't pay for insulin, or pay their rent.
Warwick, the songbird whose Bacharach & David hits were million-sellers in the '60s, was ladylike in tone but went for the jugular. "Rev. Sharpton made a very stirring dissertation ... about things he knows nothing about," she said calmly. "I doubt if most of you in black radio have even read this bill to know what it's about. We have well over zillions of dollars sitting in Europe. Money that belongs to me, Sam, Mary, to so many of us who are consistently being played in Europe. The reason we cannot collect it is because we do not have a reciprocal in the United States."
Warwick was referring to the money that European radio collects on behalf of performers. Hip-hop artist Rhymefest agreed, and pointed out that it's not just veteran artists who get more airplay in Europe, he and other hip-hop acts do as well.
"Me, Mos Def, Common, the artists you don't hear on Radio One ... the ones who get played overseas, we have money over there that we can't get here."
Adding a splash of hot pink and orange to the proceedings via his hair was the Atomic Dog himself, George Clinton. The former Detroiter flew up from Florida to take part in the panel. "I'm for anything John Conyers is for," Clinton said later.
Detroit bass player Ralphe Armstrong got the crowd fired up, especially about what he considered "disrespect" of Conyers by a Radio One ad that made light of the congressman's age.
"This man is an icon," Armstrong fumed, as the crowd briefly chanted "Con-yers, Con-yers."
"Radio stations make millions of dollars from Frito-Lay and Budweiser," Armstrong said. "They make tons of money off us. We are human beings; we have families. I hear Mary Wilson and the Supremes all over the country, but she doesn't get a dime."
As points were made by each side, signs were flashed by the audience. Hand-lettered "If You Play Us, Then Pay Us." Professionally printed "Save Black Radio" signs were brandished by the other side.
Although the meeting was tense, there were moments of levity.
"I used to go see George Clinton in concert," Sharpton said. "I had to air my clothes out before my mother smelled them, of course. George knows what I'm talking about," he said, to laughter and nods from Clinton's rainbow 'fro.
Most of the radio executives stuck it out for a few hours; Gallagher of Greater Media left at noon. "Our position was pretty well articulated by Al Sharpton, but we could have put some meat on it as far as numbers," he said. Gallagher also said his three radio stations were already paying a considerable amount in rights fees, and he thought performers should go after the rights organizations like ASCAP and BMI that radio pays, and which then pays songwriters. The songwriters' share should be diminished to pay performers, Gallagher said.
The Greater Media exec did confirm a charge by the Music First group, who said that they tried to place ads on Detroit radio but were rebuffed. "Our national rep approached us to see if we would run such an ad," Gallagher said. "I said no. Why would we?"