If you’re a terrestrial radio station that plays music, chances are you’re going to have to pony up some more bucks for the right to play music.

The Performance Rights Act has just been reintroduced to Congress. Senator Bob Corker and Representative Marsha Blackburn both support this bill. I assume it’s because Nashville is home to a ton of recording artists.

I understand that satellite, cable, and internet radio stations already have to pay performance fees to the artists whose music they’re playing. The songwriters already get paid for terrestrial, satellite, cable, and internet plays.

Here’s what I don’t understand: the radio stations are basically giving the artists free advertising for their music. And now the artists want to be compensated for having their music exposed to millions of people?

I wonder how many radio stations will stop playing music because of this? Or how many will just go off the air? And I don’t understand why two Republicans are supporting this bill. Don’t they think Madonna is earning enough money?

Now is not the time to pile on additional costs to any business.