Groups Write to Leahy Opposing Performance Bill

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A letter was sent to Senate Judiciary Committee chairman Patrick Leahy on Tuesday by 11 minority groups and civil rights organizations opposing the Performance Rights Act. The letter states that, if enacted, the proposed royalites for local music airplay would be detrimental to minority-owned stations and the communities they serve.

"The Minority Media and Telecommunications Council and the National Association of Media Brokers estimate that this legislation would throw at least a third of minority broadcasters into bankruptcy," the letter stated. "The surviving stations would find it virtually impossible to raise the capital they need to grow. Growth capital -- the only kind available -- would only enable small broadcasters to become large enough to trigger the huge royalty fees that preclude any hope of eventual profitability."

The letter continued, "The new FCC will have its hands full correcting the historic inequities facing minority broadcasters. In the meantime, Congress should not make the FCC's job far more difficult by enacting this legislation."

The organizations represented in the letter include the Black College Communication Association, The Hispanic Institute, International Black Broadcasters Association, Telecommunications Professionals, Latinos in Information Sciences and Technology, Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights Under Law, Minority Media and Telecommunications Council, National Black Chamber of Commerce, National Association of Hispanic Journalists, Spanish Broadcasters Association and UNITY: Journalists of Color, Inc.