On February 17, H.R. 310, "The Broadcast Decency Enforcement Act of 2005," passed the U.S. House of Representatives by a vote of 389-38. This bill eliminates existing warnings and allows the FCC to assess half million-dollar ($500,000) fines against both licensees and individual performers for each and every utterance deemed "indecent." The FCC’s standard for indecency, however, remains unclear at best and arbitrary at worst.

Now, the Senate is poised to take up legislation that addresses indecency.  The AFM’s position is that fining individual performers at the same rate as media conglomerates is inherently unfair, that the impact that such huge fines will have on free speech and artistic expression is detrimental and the fining of individuals rather than broadcast licensees is unprecedented.  You can help us make this message as clearly as possible by taking action and contacting your senators to let them know that the House bill will be detrimental to professional musicians across the country.  Please take a few moments to fill out and send a letter to your senators.  

There have already been competing bills introduced in the Senate.  Both bills are more sympathetic towards performers than the House version is.  Senator Brownback (R-KS) has introduced an indecency bill that would increase the fines on broadcasters, but not on performers.  Senators Rockefeller (D-WV) and Hutchison (R-TX) have introduced a similar bill that would also fine broadcasters and not performers.  Send the message to your senators that fining individuals instead of broadcasters is both unfair and unprecedented. 

As the Senate is going to act on indecency legislation in one form or another this year, the AFM feels that the Senate bills are more reasonable than the version passed in the House, which fines individual performers the same as it fines multi-billion dollar media companies.  Take action and let your senators know how you feel.

Thank you for taking the time to take action on this important issue.

Sincerely,
Hal Ponder
Director of Government Relations

Dear [ Decision Maker ] ,

As the Senate prepares to consider legislation that addresses the issue of indecency, I urge you to move slowly and with caution on this matter. The American Federation of Musicians (AFM), of which I am one of over 100,000 professional members, is opposed to any legislation that would place new, heavy fines on the backs of individual performers. As indecency legislation moves through the Senate, please consider what impact this legislation will have on individual performers and the artistic fabric of our country.

The term "indecency" is very subjective and its application raises many First Amendment concerns. Any responsibility for indecent content should be borne by the broadcaster, not the performer. It is, after all, the broadcaster who holds the FCC license and has the final say on what content may or may not be broadcast on the air. As the broadcasters make this final decision, they should be the ones that are penalized for the airing of indecent material, not the individual performers.

With the arbitrary nature of what is or is not considered "indecent," and if the House-passed version of this bill becomes law, then it is plain to see how vulnerable professional musicians are to hefty fines. Even benign or accidental utterances would be subject to a $500,000 fine.

If the Senate feels that legislative action is indeed necessary, then I ask you to support either of the Senate bills, S. 193 or S. 616, over the House version. Both of the Senate bills fine broadcasters but not individuals. The House bill, H.R. 310, imposes fines upon individual performers at the same rate, up to $500,000 per each utterance deemed "indecent," as it does multibillion-dollar media companies. Furthermore, the House bill eliminates the warning system that the FCC has had in place for decades to educate individual performers about their indecency standards. H.R. 310 would stifle artistic expression and free speech and should be rejected by the Senate. As a professional musician, I feel that such hefty fines could destroy not only my livelihood, but also pose a serious threat to the First Amendment and to this nation's creative output.

Thank you for taking my concerns on this matter into consideration.

Sincerely,

Campaign Launched:
April 12, 2005