Billy Corgan wants broadcast radio to pay performers

Internet radio has to pay performance rights but broadcast stations get a free pass. Billy Corgan, founder of the rock band Smashing Pumpkins, told Congress on Tuesday that must change. "This issue is one of fundamental fairness," Corgan told lawmakers. "If the performance of a song has value to a particular terrestrial radio station in its airing, I believe it is only right to compensate those performers who have created this work. "Simply put, if a station plays a song, both the author and the performer should be paid," he continued. "These particular performances must have value to the stations or they wouldn't be playing them." Corgan was testifying on behalf of the Performance Rights Act, which "would close a loophole in copyright law that allows music radio stations to earn billions every year without compensating the artists and musicians," according to a statement from the legislation's backers.