Randy Travis appeared before a House Judiciary subcommittee on Wednesday to urge Congress to pass the American Music Fairness Act, a bill that would require US radio stations to pay royalties to the performers of a song.
With Randy unable to speak since suffering a major stroke in 2013, his wife Mary Travis testified on his behalf. “I'm kind of like an evil version of artificial intelligence, but with my consent,” Mary says at the beginning, referring (sort of) to Randy's new song that uses the technology.
While songwriters have long received royalties when their music was played over US terrestrial radio, the same is not true for artists. The American Music Fairness Act aims to fix that, Travis' testimony said.
“What would sheet music sound like without a voice and what would the radio sound like without a song?” said Mary Travis on behalf of her husband. “This bill is necessary to correct a 100-year-old problem of artists not being paid for their work performed on the most important music platform in America, one they helped build and sustain.”
The testimonial continued, “The advent of streaming has only replaced physical records and CD sales, and there are no guarantees that listeners are selling out to buy concerts and T-shirts. People can listen to all the music they want on demand for pennies a day. Of all the things we do differently than we did a century ago, one thing remains the same, and that is that the voice is still the obligatory bridge between writer and listener. It's time to do right by those who created that sound, that tune, that feeling that keeps listeners coming back and advertisers buying radio. Passing the AMFA bill would make a lot of old mistakes right after all.”
Mary Travis also discussed Randy's recent single “Where That Came From” and the use of “artificial intelligence,” but warned of the danger of “terrible artificial intelligence” and the need to protect “artist legacies.”
“You have the power to change that, and sooner rather than later is to stare AI technology in the face,” Mary Travis told the committee. “Artificial intelligence, and I call it artistic intelligence, because it allowed Randy to release a new song that uses AI in the most authentic and artistic way. It's the first song ever recorded and released with the artist's full consent and involvement in the studio setting… That's good AI, but there's bad, no, there's terrible AI out there and it's growing exponentially every day.”
In an article published by Rolling rock In May, rapper Master P also supported the American Music Fairness Act and lobbied Congress to pass the bill. “It's time for change and we all have a role to play,” he wrote. “We recently started a new attempt to help elevate the voices of grassroots artists and their allies and ensure that our voices are heard by the people who have the power to finally right this injustice. I hope you do come with us. Because if enough of us speak up, I hope our elected officials will do right by the artists by passing it American Music Fairness Act in law.”
from our partners at https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-country/randy-travis-congress-american-music-fairness-act-1235047171/
