AMA Winners Thank Local Radio for Promotional Role

RADIO ONLINE | , , | :am CT

A trio of American Music Award winners Sunday night became the latest in a growing chorus of musicians to recognize the promotional role of free, local radio airplay. The praise for radio by Taylor Swift, Keith Urban and the country band Gloriana comes as RIAA continues to push Congress to support legislation that force radio to pay royalties for music airplay.

Taylor Swift, AMA Artist of the Year, accepted her awards via satellite. "Thank you so much," Swift said. "I want to say thank you to country radio for giving the fans a chance to hear my music."

Gloriana also used the stage to thank radio. Accepting the award for Breakthrough Artist of the Year, band member Rachel Reinert said, "We gotta thank country radio so much for playing our music."

Also praising radio was Keith Urban, AMA winner in the Country Male category, who took the stage and thanked "all our friends at country radio."

A 2008 study conducted by former Stanford economist Dr. James Dertouzos revealed that between $1.5 billion and $2.4 billion in annual music sales are generated through free radio airplay.