News

The FCC is considering a petition that would weaken certain transparency requirements for the sponsorship of music programming.

The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) is considering a petition by several major radio broadcasters to weaken certain transparency requirements for the sponsorship of music and sports programming. We strongly oppose the broadcasters’ request and proposed alternative reporting framework for a variety of reasons, including:

• Failing to provide proper disclosure at time of relevant broadcasts provides less transparency to consumers and is not in the public interest.
• It obfuscates the broadcaster’s role in accepting payments, which can lead to unfair practices such as broadcasters demanding free artist labor or payment from record labels.
• Enhanced online disclosure is a helpful addition to disclosure but not a substitute for disclosure at the time of the relevant broadcast.

A copy of our filing with the FCC is available here.

Vicky Sheckler
Senior Vice President, Deputy General Counsel
RIAA