NPR Leaves MIC Coalition Following Pressure From Advocates of Music Royalty Rules Revamp

NPR's Policy and Representation Division left the Music. Innovation. Consumers. (MIC) Coalition Tuesday amid ongoing pressure from advocates of the Fair Play Fair Pay Act (HR-1733) to leave the group. CEA, Google and NAB are members of the MIC Coalition. NAB and some other MIC Coalition members oppose HR-1733, but the MIC Coalition itself hasn’t taken a position on the bill. HR-1733, introduced in April, would require most terrestrial radio stations to begin paying performance royalties and would require digital broadcasters to begin paying royalties for pre-1972 sound recordings. The bill also would require satellite broadcasters to pay royalties at market rates (see 1504160050). The Content Creators Coalition (c3), which urged NPR Monday to leave the MIC Coalition, said in a statement Tuesday that "withdrawing was the right thing to do once NPR understood the negative impact its membership in the lobbying group had on artists and their interests." MusicFIRST, which had also urged NPR to leave the MIC Coalition, also praised the decision. "We applaud NPR for its willingness to listen and engage in a dialogue with musicians’ advocates," said MusicFIRST Executive Director Ted Kalo in a statement. “And we commend NPR’s decision to leave the MIC Coalition, separating itself from both the Coalition and its anti-artist agenda.” MIC Coalition “members ensure that American music consumers can access music through platforms, venues and innovations of their choice; that music gets heard in legal and accessible ways and that artists get paid for their work,” the group said in a statement. “It's unfortunate that some continue to try to mischaracterize that mission, and we invite all stakeholders to instead join this most important conversation about how we together create a transparent music ecosystem that benefits all of us.”