The House Judiciary Committee voted in favor of moving the American Music Fairness Act (AMFA) out of committee and onto the House floor for a full vote. If enacted into law, the bill would require radio stations to pay artists to play their music, which is the case on other music platforms, including streaming services, satellite radio and Internet radio.

Recording Academy CEO Harvey Mason Jr. is among the many applauding this important step toward signing the bill into law. "It is vital to the health of our industry that creators are compensated for the use of their intellectual property on terrestrial radio," Mason declared, "and the Recording Academy will continue to advocate for AMFA until this bill is signed into law.”

SoundExchange President and CEO Michael Huppe also acknowledged that such a provision is long overdue. “Congressional action on the American Music Fairness Act demonstrates that while justice can be delayed, it ultimately cannot be denied,” he said. “For decades, broadcast corporations have made hundreds of billions of dollars while denying creators royalties for music played on AM/FM radio stations. That’s fundamentally wrong. Everyone knows that, including the broadcasters.”

Although it's been an arduous uphill battle, Huppe is counting on Congress to get the job done, adding, “House Judiciary Committee approval of the American Music Fairness Act may not be the last step in this fight, but it’s an important one. Tens of thousands of music creators—our family, friends and neighbors—are counting on Congress to do the right thing and help them get paid for their work. We cannot let them down.”

SoundExchange commended House Judiciary Chairman Jerry Nadler, Rep. Darrell Issa and other House leaders for recognizing the bill's importance. The legislation is also sponsored by Sens. Marsha Blackburn (R-TN) and Alex Padilla (D-CA). It's now in position for final consideration as Congress concludes its work for the year.

Now, what ever happened to that unfortunately titled HITS Act?