The musicFIRST Coalition's performance royalty campaign has drawn support from some high-profile musicians. Lyle Lovett, Judy Collins and Sam Moore have all testified at hearings in Congress on behalf of the performance royalty issues.

"At 71 years old, I find I still must tour through much of the year to support myself and my family," Moore, of the legendary '60s duo Sam and Dave, told a House of Representatives hearing on the issue this summer.

"You would be amazed at how shocked people are when they learn that whenever one of my recordings is played on the radio, I receive absolutely nothing, no royalty whatsoever from the broadcaster," he testified. "Even though hundreds of oldies stations and some other formats play my records so they can sell advertising on their station, I do not share in any of that income."

At the November Senate hearings, Lovett told legislators that leaving performers out of the equation is an "incomprehensible anomaly." He acknowledged the support he has received by radio in his career but added: "Business is business, and fair is fair -- and they shouldn't get to profit off the music we create without compensating us ... . No one tunes into a radio station to hear the commercials."

Lovett's comments promoted this response from Dan DeBruler, general manager of WCLN-FM in Fayetteville, N.C., in the trade journal Radio Business Report: "I don't know what it's like to be a recording artist that needs a few more dollars to buy a bus for a touring band, but Mr. Lovett, I don't suspect you know much about needing a loan to replace your transmitter after a lightning strike, either ... . I only wish someone of your talent and stature would take a stand for us small broadcasters -- struggling just as hard as the working musician to make ends meet."

Not all recording artists are lining up with the coalition. Some have sided with the status quo, testifying to the value of free airplay. "You know what we do means nothing if it never gets played and no one gets to hear it," said country band Rascal Flatts during the Country Music Association Awards ceremony last month.

That view is being reinforced by radio station owners. "Throughout history, artists, record label executives and Congress have recognized the enormous promotional value of America's hometown radio stations," says Dennis Wharton, executive vice president of the National Association of Broadcasters. The Recording Industry Association of America "and executives from the foreign-owned record labels should know better than to bite the radio-hand that feeds them."

While a handful of musicians achieve superstar status, the majority are part of "the great middle class of artists .... Like other Americans, we expect to be compensated when businesses make a profit from our work product," Chicago singer/songwriter Alice Peacock said during her testimony on behalf of the performance royalty at a Senate Committee on the Judiciary hearing last month.

Peacock also challenged the broadcasting industry's promotion argument: "Last week, I bought a pair of Nike shoes. With the Nike logo on my feet, I am probably promoting their brand wherever I go. Can you imagine if I decided not to pay for the shoes on the grounds that my promoting Nike should excuse me from payment? My refusal to pay would be called 'shoplifting.' But radio's refusal to pay artists is called 'business as usual.' "