A new amount they can rob from you, if you ask me...
https://www.radioworld.com/news-and-business/business-and-law/fcc-can-use-new-pirate-radio-fines-starting-april-26"As of April 26, the Federal Communications Commission can start hitting pirate radio operators with beefy new fines.
The Federal Register has now published rules that the FCC recently adopted at the direction of Congress in the “Preventing Illegal Radio Abuse Through Enforcement (PIRATE) Act.” The rules take effect April 26.
The act, signed by President Trump early last year, gives the FCC authority to levy fines of up to $100,000 per violation and $2 million in total."
Let's be honest. Except for a few rare exceptions, most pirates (those using more power than Part 15 allows) are harming literally no one. The ONLY reason anyone besides radio folks like us care about them is because they're most likely not paying music licensing fees.
Let's put that in perspective, however. There's far, FAR, less pirates than legal music stations. So, while I can't produce exact numbers, the exact amount they're "stealing" is astronomically low compared with how much ASCAP BMI and others are getting from iHeart and others. But considering just how greedy those companies are, and how little the artists even actually get from the fees anyway, paying the music licensing only really fattens the pockets of rich execs and not the artists.
I say if you really want to pay the artists, your best bet is buying their LPs or (when covid goes away) going to their live shows and buying their merch. A pirate is harming absolutely no one, and certainly not hurting the bank accounts of the artists their playing on air.
Besides, the pirates who don't get caught are likely doing the smart thing and constantly measuring SWR, protecting against harmonics and picking the most clear and safe frequencies. And aren't airing songs riddled with curse words. And using audio processing to blend in even better.
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