Protecting Local Radio from Harmful New Fees

Performance Tax

NAB continued to educate policymakers about the harm that would be caused to local radio stations, artists and listeners by imposing a new performance fee on stations simply for airing and promoting music.

  • In February, a bipartisan coalition of 119 members of the House of Representatives, led by Reps. Steve Womack (AR-3) and Kathy Castor (FL-14), introduced the Local Radio Freedom Act (LRFA), a resolution in Congress opposing "any new performance fee, tax, royalty or other charge" on local broadcast radio stations.
  • In March, the resolution was also introduced in the Senate by a bipartisan coalition of 20 senators led by Sens. Maggie Hassan (NH) and John Barrasso (WY).
  • At the end of 2023, 211 members of the House and 24 senators had cosponsored the resolution.

Why it matters:

Strong bipartisan congressional support of the LRFA once again demonstrates that local radio is a vital source of news, entertainment and emergency information for communities - and is the best defense against future attempts to pass legislation that would impose a new performance fee on radio.