Dear New Hampshire Association of Broadcasters:
As we close out 2019 and move onto the next decade, there is much to reflect upon.
Licensed radio and television stations have all agreed, “to serve the public, interest, convenience and necessity.” We should all be proud of what our membership to the New Hampshire Association of Broadcasters does and the commitment it provides to our local communities. You, too, should be proud. Your community respects you and looks to your stations in both good times and bad, and special times like this time of the year.
Hopefully, one of the reasons you sought out a career in broadcasting is the good we do for our communities, and continue to do throughout the year. We do a lot of good…in fact, a lot of really good. We can’t stop…ever. Take a moment to reflect on the accomplishments of your stations throughout the past month, the past year, and the past decade. This is something to recognize and celebrate! Take a minute and thank the staff in your building(s). Without engineers, traffic directors, promotion directors, sales executives, administrative staff, business managers, on-air staff, talent, and others that I have inadvertently missed, we would not and could not do what we do to continue to serve our public, interest, convenience and necessity.
2020 will bring a new challenge to our radio membership. As Executive Director, Tracy has done a great job maintaining the full delegations support for the Radio Freedom Act. However, there is new legislation in the works that will negatively impact the radio membership, the Ask Musicians for Music (AMFM) Act.
The AMFM Act gives music creators control of their own work by requiring broadcasters to obtain consent before playing their music. Under the AMFM Act, artists who want to allow terrestrial radio to continue to use their work for free can choose to do so. Artists who seek compensation for their work can exercise their right to negotiate rates for the use of their recordings from broadcasters.
We need your help. Speak to your Congress person or Senator. Our position is that radio plays the music, at no charge to artists, to its millions of listeners. That results in free promotion of the music, hit songs and artist recognition. That leads to music being sold, concerts venues being filled and both record labels and artists making money.
We will continue to address this topic with the delegation at the meetings in Washington, DC in February.
Thank you to each of you for your support in airing the NCSA schedules this year. The Spradling Group has done an outstanding job in securing new NCSA’s during increasingly competitive times. In addition to this, Tracy and Scott have worked diligently to save what could be a disappearing National Guard NCSA. Tracy shared that we have received very positive news that the National Guard is very pleased and looking forward to an ongoing relationship with the NHAB. Due to their support and leadership, we are in the third consecutive year of positive revenue for the Association.
It is critical that all of our stations stand strong, continue to be the bright lights of our towns, to feel the inner connectivity with our partisans who listen because you are their voice.
Have a wonderful and prosperous 2020.
Sincerely,
Lucy Lange Chair – NHAB
Link to the RadioInk article on the AMFM Act