Stevie Wonder “makes the case for independent radio station owners” regarding music licensing fees in a Billboard column. He says “I wear two hats,” as a songwriter and longtime owner of L.A.’s urban AC KJLH/102.3. And says “What is happening to independent station owners is that we are facing higher costs to play the music our audience wants to hear, but with no decent explanation of the how and why these higher costs are justified. We have societies that lose significant artists to other societies but make no adjustment in the fees they charge to stations for their remaining roster.” This could be music to the ears of many members of the Radio Music License Committee. Stevie says with the arrival of a fourth PRO (performing rights organization) named Global Music Rights, you wonder whether there will be “a fifth PRO, or a sixth or a seventh? How many licenses will we need to get?”
