Legislative Outlook for Early 2023

February 1, 2023

Alfonso Pollard  -  

AFM Legislative, Political, and Diversity Director

As the new 118th Congress gavels in, the AFM looks ahead and summarizes the work still on the table.

American Music Fairness Act

Progress continues on the creator side of the industry, led in part by the AFM, to ensure that music creator’s and their intellectual property are fairly compensated when played on AM/FM terrestrial radio. Considerable progress was made during the 117th Congress on HR 4130, commonly referred to as the American Music Fairness Act (AMFA). It was granted both an extensive hearing and a final markup in the House Judiciary Committee.

In addition, the bill acquired bipartisan Senate support as Senators Marsha Blackburn (R-TN) and Alex Padilla (D-CA) came on board as principal sponsors of the bill in the Senate.

Despite an outstanding musicFIRST Coalition lobbying effort, supported by members of the House Judiciary Committee and rank-and-file members of the AFM, we fell just short of getting the bill included in the final omnibus package.

However, work has already begun this year to get a quick reintroduction in the House and Senate, using the phenomenal momentum from the previous Congress to make faster progress in this first session. Hopefully, we will soon have more good news.

Performing Artist Tax Parity Act

Our work continues with Representatives Judy Chu (D-CA) and Vern Buchanan (R-FL) toward passage of the Performing Artist Tax Parity Act that would restore above the line tax benefits for qualified performing artists, which were lost in the 2017 Trump Tax Cuts and Jobs Act.

Welcoming Freshman Members of Congress

With each new Congress, the AFL-CIO hosts a bipartisan reception for incoming members of the freshman class of legislators. This session’s event took place at the AFL-CIO’s headquarters. It was cohosted by new and former Democratic leadership, combining the forces of organized labor and the freshman class.  

AFM Local 161-710 (Washington, DC) Secretary-Treasurer Marta Bradley was on hand to meet with delegates and briefly discuss our issues. Bradley made contact with new members Marie Gluesenkamp Perez (D-WA), Nikki Budzinski (D-IL), Shri Thanedar (D-MI), Seth Magaziner (D-RI), Emilia Sykes (D-OH), Brittany Pettersen (D-CO), Greg Casar (D-TX), and Becca Balint (D-VT), to name a few. Congratulations to Bradley for her success during such a complex meeting.

If any of these new members represent your congressional district, please drop me an email at apollard@afm.org to let me know. 

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