Gene Simmons Testifies About Why Artists Deserve Payment for Radio Airplay

Gene Simmons has spoken before lawmakers about what he views as the “injustice” of artists not receiving payment when their music is played on radio stations.

On Tuesday, the KISS frontman appeared before the U.S. Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on Intellectual Property during a hearing titled Balancing the Interests of Local Radio, Songwriters, and Performers in the Digital Age.

Alongside other representatives from the music industry, Simmons shared his perspective on the American Music Fairness Act, a proposal that would require major broadcasters to “fairly compensate artists, session musicians, and vocalists when they play their songs on AM/FM radio.”

“I am here to respectfully ask all of you, Republicans and Democrats alike, to help correct a situation, an injustice. Let us call it exactly what it is, an injustice that has gone on for many, many decades,” he said. “Bing Crosby recorded one of the biggest songs ever, White Christmas from 1942. What could be more American than that? It has been played on AM and FM radio millions of times every holiday season. That song belongs to America. Everyone involved gets paid, from the radio station selling ads to the plumber who repaired the plumbing and the disc jockey playing the track. The only person who never received a cent for those airplays was Bing Crosby. It is unbelievable.”

The proposed law includes protections for smaller or local broadcasters by exempting any station that earns less than 1.5 million dollars in yearly revenue and whose parent companies generate under 10 million dollars in annual revenue.

Simmons continued by stating that even legends such as Elvis Presley and Frank Sinatra did not “get a penny” for radio plays and framed the issue as one connected to American values.

He also asserted that U.S. President Donald Trump would sign the legislation if it reached him.

“If you oppose this bill, you are un-American. It may seem like a minor issue. There are wars happening and many other things,” the seventy six year old said. “We have to fix this right now for our children and their children. We need to act today because AI is arriving quickly, and this is a very outdated injustice.”

During the hearing, Henry Hinton, president and chief executive of Inner Banks Media, disagreed with Simmons’s stance. He argued that radio stations are already operating under serious financial strain since they already pay copyright fees to performing rights organisations such as ASCAP and SoundExchange.

“Radio is free to our listeners, but it is not free to the people who deliver it,” he explained.

Simmons’s remarks follow shortly after he received a medal from Trump as part of the Kennedy Center Honors in recognition of his impact on the music industry.