Recording Artists Lobby for a Bill

A diverse collection of recording artists urged state lawmakers to pass legislation cracking down on allegedly unfair accounting practices at major record labels that they say cheat them out of royalties.

Country music star Clint Black, who appeared at the Los Angeles hearing with performers such as Kevin Richardson of the Backstreet Boys and Eagles star Don Henley, told a California Senate committee on entertainment: “We need to hold them [labels] accountable and none of us as individuals have been able to do that.”

Musicians and artist representatives said they routinely find that record labels under-report the amount owed to them.

Record executives from each of the five major record companies testified that their companies did not intentionally under-report royalties.