Sens. Blanche Lincoln (AR) and John Barrasso (WY) sent a letter late last week to Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (NV) and Sen. Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (KY) expressing opposition to the Performance Rights Act, which was passed by the Senate Judiciary Committee on October 15. The legislation, supported by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), would impose an additional fee on local radio stations for every song aired free to listeners.

"By many estimations, passage of this legislation would result in potentially billions of dollars flowing from local broadcasters to the recording industry and would have a devastating impact on the local radio broadcasting system as we know it," wrote Sens. Lincoln and Barrasso.

The RIAA-backed legislation "clearly evokes strong opposition that transcends party affiliation. As leaders of our two parties, we ask that you oppose any effort to move this bill, either as a standalone measure or as part of a broader legislative package," they continued.

Sens. Lincoln and Barrasso are original cosponsors of a countering resolution known as the Local Radio Freedom Act, which has gained bipartisan support from 26 U.S. Senators and 251 House lawmakers. The Local Radio Freedom Act expressly opposes any new fee, charge or tax on local radio stations for music broadcast free, over-the-air.

Click here to read the letter in PDF format.