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PERFORMANCE RIGHTS ACT CONGRESSIONAL HEARING TODAY: The Subcommittee on Courts, the Internet, and Intellectual Property will hold their Hearing on H.R. 4789, the “Performance Rights Act” today at 2PM (Eastern). The subcommittee will hear arguments from the record industry pushing a performance royalty for terrestrial radio. The broadcasters will (and have, see today’s RAIN) argue that the promotional power of radio puts money into artists’ pockets. We’ll be watching to see if the issue of internet radio royalties will pop up also, as the recording industry will argue that terrestrial radio should pay performance fees to be equal with satellite and cable mediums—the same argument webcasters have used to try to lower their royalty rates (RAIN coverage here). A live webcast of the hearing will be available here. The official witness list for the hearing has also been released (here). Among those appearing is Frank Sinatra’s daughter Nancy Sinatra, President of the American Federation of Musicians Thomas F. Lee, and President / Chief Operating Officer of ICBC Broadcast Holdings Charles Warfield.

$1.5 to $2.4 BILLION IN MUSIC SALES DUE TO RADIO SAYS NAB STUDY: The National Association of Broadcasters (NAB) has distributed a second study (here) around Congress (RAIN coverage on the first here), just before a hearing today on performance royalty fees for terrestrial radio, claiming that radio airplay results in $1.5 to $2.4 billion in music sales. Conducted by Dr. James Dertouzos, a former Stanford economics professor, the study leaves out revenue from licensing, merchandising, and concert sales—focusing instead only on album and digital track sales. Due to this narrow field, Dertouzos describes his figure as “extremely conservative.” He stated, “The study clearly demonstrates that radio airplay increases music sales and that performing artists and record labels profit from exposure provided by radio airplay.” The NAB hopes this study and its predecessor show Congress how the promotional power of radio justifies not having a performance royalty fee. For more on the story read FMQB’s coverage here.

HANSON ACCEPTS ACCURADIO WEBBY: AccuRadio founder (and RAIN publisher) Kurt Hanson accepted the “People’s Voice” Webby Award for Best Radio last night in a gala sold-out event at Cipriani Wall Street hosted by SNL’s Seth Meyers. While AccuRadio won the “People’s Voice” Best Radio Webby, BBC World Service won over the judges panel for the Best Radio award. Acknowledging this, and alluding to the fact that AccuRadio is produced by a team of only ten people (some of whom are part-time), Kurt’s five-word acceptance speech (the word limit is a Webby tradition) was “BBC — like, 90,000 employees! Thanks.” Person of the Year winner Stephen Colbert’s acceptance speech was a tad simpler, “ME! ME! ME! ME! ME!” The award was specifically for AccuRadio’s new user interface at www.AccuTunes.com.

EMMIS INTERACTIVE STEPS UP TO THE PLATE IN NEW BIG LEAGUE DEAL: Emmis Interactive announced yesterday (here) it has partnered with Big League Broadcasting’s Sports Radio 790 The Zone to share its BaseStation content management system with the radio station’s website, as well as provide sales consulting. “Emmis Interactive is giving us the tools to really serve our listeners, engage them at a higher level and involve them in our brand experience, while also giving us the knowledge and understanding of how to capture the real business opportunities,” said 790 The Zone Marketing and Promotions Director Leslie Rosetta Smith. Emmis Interactive is also working with Big League sister station KFNS (590 AM The Fan)/St. Louis, and reportedly is nearing completion on its site.

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