Dingell: Performance Royalty 'Ridiculous'
March 3, 2010: House Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman Emeritus John Dingell (D-MI) spoke at the NAB State Leadership Dinner in Washington last night, and he came down on the NAB's side on the Performance Rights Act, saying, "I'd like to express my opposition to legislation imposing a performance tax on broadcasters. I am concerned that such a tax would be of less benefit to recording artists than to record labels, many of which are based abroad."
Dingell continued, "Further, recording artists and record labels have profited handsomely for years from the free publicity they get from broadcasters, a mutually beneficial relationship that a performance tax will destroy. Lastly, and perhaps most practically, it seems ridiculous to me to impose a new punitive fee on broadcasters during this time of recession, especially as broadcasters have seen their revenues decrease by up to 40 percent over the past several years."
The FCC is considering proposals to have television broadcasters return part of their spectrum so it can be used for mobile broadband, and Dingell said he is "concerned" about the plans now being considered. He noted that TV broadcasters already returned one-third of their spectrum during the digital TV transition last year and said, "I remain unconvinced by arguments that broadcasters are using their remaining spectrum inefficiently. It is my hope that the Congress and Commission can find a way to increase the spectrum available for the purposes of mobile broadband without threatening the availability of free, over-the-air broadcasting to the public."
Dingell also warned against "premature rulemaking action" by the FCC as it works on its National Broadband Plan, saying it could be "counterproductive" to the goals of having Congress and the FCC collaborate on a plan and its implementation.
Dingell served as Commerce chairman or ranking Democrat for nearly 30 years before being succeeded as chairman in 2007 by Henry Waxman (D-CA). Dingell was then given the title of chairman emeritus.
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